Thomas A Jones

[L Verge]

(06-18-2015 08:07 PM)Rick Smith Wrote:  Bill, Thanks very much for asking. I will send it to Roger in the morning. All my files are at my office in Washington.

Jim, I reference "Silver Blaze" in my article as an example of a literary reference to the ancient art of horse faking.

Eva, Thanks for your interest in the subject. I wrote an article on the fate of the horses also.

Rick

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Laurie,

Just remembered a conversation we had at your office about the horse faking topic and that you said Mr. Hall always felt that the horses were not destroyed and I certainly agree with him.

Rick

When I was growing up, Southern Maryland inhabitants were largely native to the area dating back many generations. Most of them knew the story of the Lincoln assassination and the escape of Booth and Herold. 95% of them scoffed at the idea that those horses were destroyed. No one could or would divulge where they might have ended up, but it sure wasn't as buzzard meat in the shallow, non-quicksand region of the Zekiah Swamp. By the way, the swamp is pretty nasty looking, but people actually lived in parts of it in 1865 - just like they do in the bayou country further south.

I think we've discussed reasons why it didn't happen the way history (and probably the subjects recording it) say: 1. Protect your friends, comrades, and family to the bitter end. 2. The so called shots would have been heard for miles and those Yankees would be aheading in the direction of the sound. 3. Once you shot (or cut the throat -- another version) of the first horse, you would have one heck of a time controlling the second one. 4. A slit throat causes lots of blood, and the first whiff of the companion horse would cause it to panic. 5. Rotting horse flesh attracts many buzzards and crows that also attract pursuers' attention. 6. You don't destroy valuable horse flesh, especially in an area where the Yankees had confiscated almost everyone's horses (and it was time for spring planting). 7. Even one thought might have been the pure satisfaction that the Confederate sympathizers had in hiding those horses so the enemy couldn't find them.