Booth escape route north

[Troy Cowan]

On page 65 of Hanchett's book he stated that Booth was "...badly crippled by the leg he fractured in his jump to the stage.." He seems to be stating his opinion as a fact. Laurie, how can we keep him in high regard when he does something like that? There is no proof that Booth broke his leg when he jumped to the stage and no proof that he was badly crippled. Dr. Mudd said it was a minor break. At Dr. Mudd's, Booth was complaining about his aching back more than his leg.

Then on page 231 of the same book Hanchett says that, "So carelessly were they prepared, they even had Boyd's middle name wrong; it was Ward not William. (It's Hanchett that has it wrong.) He goes on to describe James Ward Boyd as blue-eyed, six feet two inches tall, with gray hair. (James William Boyd is described with red hair and having a similar build as that of Booth.) Hanchett also says that the picture most often used is of a man in a Union uniform and that Boyd was a Confederate and that it could not be Boyd. (James William Boyd was a Confederate spy. When going North, he would not wear his Confederate uniform.) James William Boyd is not the same person as James Ward Boyd and the only confusion is from people that read Hanchett's book.

Wsanto said, "We will all agree that it is a fact that Booth leapt from the box after the assassination and landed on the stage 12 feet below. By most accounts he landed awkwardly. I assume we can all agree that this is a way a person might break their fibula."

I can't agree, I need more information. I have heard that the stage was 8 feet, 10 feet, or 12 feet above the stage. Several sources have stated the floor of Lincoln's box is 8 feet above the stage. It seems it would be easy for someone to prove or disprove.
I also think that any broken bone would be from compression forces on the bone and it would result in splintering or a ragged fracture. Dr. Mudd said it was a straight break just above the ankle. During the war that kind of break was common when a soldier's horse stumbled and rolled over the soldier's leg.