Those Booth Horses Again -

[Rick Smith]

Remind me again how we know that Booth lost his hat at Ford's.

Found it on page 18 of American Brutus: "...in a manner of speaking, the crime scene came to them [the police]. Witnesses flocked to their office, many with evidence in hand.....another turned in the assassin's hat. Made of dark grey felt, it was a fashionable "slouch" hat, with a pleated band, low crown, and turned-up brim. E.D. Wray of the Surgeon General's office picked it up only seconds [?seconds??] after the shooting, and others identified it as the one that fell from Booth's head when he hit the stage."

Interesting in a way because I always thought that slouch hats were popular because they tended to stay securely on the head. It also means that all the engravings of Booth in the box without a hat are wrong.

The slouch hat became popular in America in 1852 as a result of the visit of Lajos Kossuth, the Hungarian freedom fighter, who wore that style of hat while touring the U.S.

The slouch hat was also known as a Kossuth Hat.

What is interesting is the description of the hat worn by Booth: ". . .dark grey felt, it was a fashionable "slouch" hat, with a pleated band, low crown, and turned-up brim."

The pleated band is very unique.

I need to get one of those.