Human Memory and History

[RobertLC]

Roger,

That is quite an account for sure. Thanks for sharing it. I can see why it is one of your favorites. She must have been a very young girl when she witnessed the event or a very elderly lady when she reported her story on the radio in 1928. Maybe there were cowboys in the wings who were experts with roping animals just waiting to take Booth away.

Booth’s broken leg (or not broken leg) is always an interesting topic. It has been a while since I’ve looked, but I don’t recall any immediate 1865 accounts that described Booth as limping or favoring his leg in any way as he escaped the stage. But after his diary was “rediscovered” and released in 1867, accounts began to appear that mentioned his favoring his leg in some way.

Amazing how memory mutates.

Bob