Booth's visit to the Surratt Boarding House after the assassination

[Jim Garrett]

This is such a goooood thread. I consulted with Gloria Swift, former curator from Ford's Theatre and all round super person. She is a consumate historian and professional, and I hold her up in the upmost respect. It is our objective opinion that: JWB, being the consumate professional rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed what he was going to do Friday night. He was seen by a number of people at Ford's that afternoon, most likely acting out the drama to unfold later that night.

JWB could not be weighted down with extra baggage. Being such a noted actor and "the handsomest man in America", he knew he would be noticed (as he was), but he couldn't afford any undue attention, such as "Hey, why does Wilkes have a gunbelt and braces of revolvers on?". He was armed with what he needed to perpetrate the crime (the deringer) and an additional weapon (the knife) for self defense. It worked!

JWB knew he would have absolutely no obstacles getting into the box. His only possible confrontation before "the deed" would be in the box, since he took the precaution of secreting the wooden bar that afternoon to prevent any intervention from outside the box. How about that planning, boy did it work!

So his only threat would be from inside the box. He knew there was easy access to the President Once he entered the alcove, the worst case situation would be he would be noticed and confronted before he was ready to pull the trigger. If that happened, it would most likely be nothing more than an inquiry, not the type of physical or restrictive confrontation. Even if their was a confrontation, JWB would be just a few feet from the President....and Booth had the element of surprise.

Booth had timed it perfectly. PERFECTLY! The entire theatre would be in a moment of extreme laughter and the last thing they would expect is a gunshot. He was only one actor on stage and the only other people that might be between him and the back door were Jacob Rittenspaugh and Ned Spangler. He did not anticipate William Withers. He knew that by the time anyone had any idea what was going on, he would be out the back door.

But his escape was secondary. His objective was to kill the President. If he got away, it was the icing on the cake. And guess what? He got away. He shot the President, dispatched his resistance (Rathbone), lightened his load, dropping deringer jumped to the stage, proclaimed his victory (Sic Semper Baby!!) and was out the back door......all in about 1 minute (according to William Ferguson). Damn, he was good! He had the guns and spare hat on his horse. I can't conceive that he planned to stop at the boarding house minutes after the shot. That would be too dangerous. He knew if he were to escape, he had to get South fast! He was going to stop at the tavern and then maybe Mudd's or elsewhere, if needed, before getting to the river.

The assassination was very very well planned. Kill the President and get outta Dodge ASAP. Done