Booth's Horse Fell....

[L Verge]

(12-21-2016 04:36 PM)Gene C Wrote:  I'll disagree with you John.
It's just as likely, perhaps more likely, that Booth's horse fell when running/trotting down a dirt road at night compared to Booth jumping over the rail of the theater box.

Ever tried running in the dark?
It's not so easy for the horse either.

I'm sure Booth would love to embellish his story by telling southern sympathizers that he broke his leg when Rathbone grabbed him as he was trying to escape after shooting Lincoln. Makes it sound a little more daring.
Saying a horse fell on you lacks a certain flair and flamboyance.

Personally I have no idea, I imagine he changed his story based upon who he was talking to. He would say broken while escaping Ford's to a Confederate sympathizer, Broken when a horse fell on him to a Union supporter.

I have one retort to that: Booth was still on the skittish mare at the time of the supposed fall. Since she had to be held all the time, was Booth able to control her by holding onto the reins as he and she got back up? Seems to me that he would have to let go - even briefly at some point - in order to extricate himself from under her and that the heavy animal would make a break for it and disappear.

This topic has been discussed to death over the years on this forum. I think we all have concluded that we don't know what happened - we can only theorize and agree or disagree with what Mike eventually put in print.