Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth

[RJNorton]

Gath writes, "On the Friday night of the murder the departments were absolutely paralyzed. The murderers had three good hours for escape; they had evaded the pursuit of lightning by snapping the telegraph wires, and rumor filled the town with so many reports that the first valuable hours, which should have been used to follow hard after them, were consumed in feverish efforts to know the real extent of the assassination."

Is this not quite the embellishment if not an outright falsehood? I have sometimes read that the telegraph lines were deliberately cut in Washington on the night of Lincoln’s assassination. Yet I have never read of John Wilkes Booth's plans or capability to do such. Some have blamed Stanton for this as part of his alleged role in the conspiracy. Stanton, himself, sent a 1 A.M. telegram to New York:

War Department,
April 15, 1865-1 a. m.

John A. Kennedy,

Chief of Police, New York:

Send here immediately three or four of your best detectives to investigate the facts as to the assassination of the President and Secretary Seward. They are still alive, but the President's case is hopeless, and that of Mr. Seward nearly the same.

Edwin M. Stanton,

Secretary of War.

Isn't Gath wrong? Isn't the assumption that all telegraph lines out of Washington were mysteriously cut a falsehood?