Escape speculations

[PaigeBooth]

(06-12-2015 02:32 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  This is a "what-if" question, thus I am asking for your speculations.

To me, in advance, the idea of assassinating the president in a theater box in a fully packed house during a performance and escape via the stage would have sounded most unrealistic to successfully accomplish, precisely succeeding in flight would have. But the screen-play did work out. So I wonder - theoretically, could any of the conspirators have successful escaped capture? If not, who could have made it the farthest, and how far would that have been?
If JWB hadn't broken his leg, how far could he have come? Would Canada have been the more promising destination?
And Powell - if he hadn't abandoned or lost his horse, what could he have done?
If Dr. Mudd had been more suspicious of that he might get into serious trouble, would it have made sense to flee?

Thanks for any thoughts on this!

This is a great topic, Eva!

I do think there are many things Booth and Davy could have done differently during their escape. Booth's leg was one of the biggest things that held the two back and drastically slowed them down, but still, this was something that could not really be helped once the damage was done.

One of Booth and Davy Herold's biggest mistakes, was their prolonged stay at the Indiantown farm slave cabin following their unsuccessful attempt at crossing the Potomac River on the night of April 20th. Booth and Davy arrived at the Indiantown farm on the night of April 20th, after they failed to cross the Potomac River. Booth and Davy stayed at the Indiantown farm slave cabin the night of April 20th, and they did not bother to cross the Potomac the next night, April 21st; thus, they did not leave the slave cabin and attempt to cross the Potomac again until the evening of April 22nd. I believe the reasons why Booth and Davy stayed at the slave cabin for so long is still unknown and filled with speculation, but I often think that if Booth and Davy had left the slave cabin sooner, they may have gotten much further in their failed escape. To me, it seems like they wasted a lot of precious time.

The slave cabin where they stayed still stands. Please see Dave Taylor's BoothBarn for pictures:

http://boothiebarn.com/picture-galleries/nanjemoy/