Dave Taylor's Great Adventure

[L Verge]

As many of you know, Dave Taylor of this forum and master of BoothieBarn.com, will be spending a portion of his spring break from teaching "relaxing" (a la JWB) in the woods of Southern Maryland. To assist him in really getting into the inner soul of Booth, Rick Smith and a friend have made a pair of wooden crutches for him to hobble around on - after he breaks his leg (wherever).

Rick brought them by Surratt House today for demonstration. Without the padding that we are accustomed to, Rick says they are very painful to walk with if one trusts them to bear weight. The pressure on the arms and armpits is great.

I suggested that Booth only used one (I think that's all that Mudd's farmhand crafted) for that reason - more like a support or for balance, since his break was not with a weight-bearing bone. Also, the poor man might have had torn rotator cuffs and biceps trying to walk with two while lifting the injured leg!

[BettyO]

Sounds great! I can wait for his reports -

[RickBeaver]

Wonder what dates he will be out there? Beware the Garrett Farm area around the 26th!

[J. Beckert]

Rick Smith and a friend have made a pair of wooden crutches for him to hobble around on - after he breaks his leg (wherever).

I was privileged to see the prototype when I stopped in on Rick on my way home from the conference. Rick and his pal did a absolutely fantastic job and I thought it was very generous of him (as usual) to avail himself and offer up his talents.

Nice job, son.....

[RJNorton]

Wonder what dates he will be out there? Beware the Garrett Farm area around the 26th!

Hi Rick. Dave made a video about his upcoming trip here. Also, there is a fairly lengthy thread about the trip here.

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Rick Smith for sending information and photos about the crutches he and Patrick Dunigan made for Dave.

"We used 1"x 1" oak for the leg (essentially a tobacco stick) and a piece of a chair back I found when Joe Beckert & I were at Laurie's old home place was used for the arm piece. The parts were cut to size and then rasped and planed to ease the rough spots, then bored with a brace & bit, pegged, glued and given a light sanding."

[RickBeaver]

Wonder what dates he will be out there? Beware the Garrett Farm area around the 26th!

Hi Rick. Dave made a video about his upcoming trip here. Also, there is a fairly lengthy thread about the trip here.

[Francis Farrell]

This is an interesting approach to historical re-enactment. I trust young Mr. Taylor does realize that he will be wearing only one boot and a" slipper" or brogue. As an old campaigner I would suggest he take along an oilskin groundcloth as well, blankets on the ground really allow the chill to sneak in and at my age the rheumatism kicks up now and again and youth is no protection. I hope he is careful with using any fire as the Union troops riding along the King's Highway will spot or smell it and if my memory is sharp enough Mr. Booth didn't have access to a fire while in the thicket. He also needs to be aware of the Public road that will run above him along the swamp near Allen's Fresh, Tom Jones took particular care when crossing near here. I might recommend that Mr. Taylor consider using the hospitality of Mr. Adams tavern. There are a couple of very intriguing references to visits there by a lame man in mid to late "65. The Colles property as Mr. Jones identified it, is near a spring so water will not be problem, unless it has dried up. As always the older memory takes a while to recall facts, but I seem to recall that there were some free blacks in the area who could provide either shelter or food, poor as it may be, its hot and filling. Dawn and dusk are times that Mr. Taylor needs to be careful as it is easy to be silhouetted against the backdrops , its also a good time to be not moving. When the sun sets ,avoiding the moon shadows will enable him to transit to Newport and a warm bed. The stump near the spring will also enable Mr. Taylor to mount more easily- he is going by horseback correct?

I look forward to learning more of his experiences

Yr. Ob. Svt

Francis Farrell

[L Verge]

Mr. Farrell - Please tell me your source for referring to the King's Highway in Maryland. During the colonial era, nearly every colony had a King's Highway for some reason, but I have never found reference to the one in Virginia extending into Maryland nor of Maryland having created one of her own. This is the second time I have seen you refer to this, and I am really curious.

I also thought that most states dropped that name after the Revolutionary War, with some bringing the term back in the 1900s as our interstate highway system grew and we also recognized historical factors. The true King's Highway of the colonial era began as the Boston Post Road, I believe, and supposedly ran from Boston to Charleston. From what I have read, however, it was not much of a road in most areas -- just a maze of wheel tracks and ruts. Many people depended on river travel instead.

I am happy to see that you have noted Rick Smith's research concerning Newport, James Owens, and the mysterious men on horseback led by a young boy (Samuel Cox, Jr., perhaps?). Mr. Hall commented on Owens in his notes many long years ago, but Rick is the only one that I know of who has picked up and run with the research. He contributed a very interesting article to the Surratt Courier several years back on the subject and has recently discussed it on this forum. To me, it is a very credible lead to follow.

[RJNorton]

Thanks again to Rick for sending this photo. Here he is using the Booth crutch at Surratt's.

[BettyO]

Wow! Looks great, Rick! You've done a splended job and I'm sure Booth will be hobbling in style!

Now....does Dave have a "Band Box" splint? I have an old battered reproduction band box which I could cut up and send on....!

[Rick Smith]

Wow! Looks great, Rick! You've done a splended job and I'm sure Booth will be hobbling in style!

Now....does Dave have a "Band Box" splint? I have an old battered reproduction band box which I could cut up and send on....!

Thanks for the kind words, Betty. Patrick Dunigan was the lead mechanic on this project. His idea to run a long wooden peg through the arm piece and well down into the leg makes those crutches very sturdy tools. We probably took more time and care than John Best did at Mudd's. Of course, we were not working under any pressure.

[Dave Taylor]

Hi all,

I apologize for being late to my own party here, but I'm been pretty busy preparing for my "great adventure". On Saturday I spent the day with Bob Cook at Bryantown Tavern getting a tour and the chance to admire his magificent collection of books. Bob was also kind enough to lend me a bowie knife similar to the one Booth used to attack Major Rathbone. We were also on the look out for a set of field glasses and a canteen that Bob had used when he did his own "adventure" rowing across the Potomac and camping at Nanjemoy Creek. We came up empty finding those, but it was a great time viewing his personal museum. When I got home from Bryantown Tavern, Lindsey presented me with the crutches Rick and Patrick so generously made for me. They truly are impeccable and fit me perfectly. I'm so thankful to the two of them for going through all the effort to make me such a fine pair of crutches in the same manner in which they would have been made during the Civil War era. I spent a good deal of Saturday night and Sunday practicing to walk with them. I still haven't decided if I'm going to use both crutches or just one, because, like Rick, I'm not exactly sure how many Booth had. I also feel that it would have been a challenge to carry a crutch while on horseback, let alone two. But I'm bringing them both regardless.

On Sunday I dragged Lindsey out to Loyola and led her into the woods so that she could see where I was going to make my camp. I'll send her the GPS coordinates as well so that she can more easily find me and bring me food, water and newspapers like Thomas Jones.

Yesterday I spent my time after work packing up all the materials I will be bringing with me. While I am trying to be as true to Booth's experience as possible, I do have some extra gear that he did not have. For instance I have a video camera, regular camera for stills, camera gear, tripod(s), emergency first aid kit, emergency flashlight, a small Civil War tin lantern and candles so that I can do some filming in the dark, pages of research, and a copy of American Brutus to consult.

I will be on the Surratt Bus tour on Saturday and so I will be doing some filming at Ford's, Surratt, and Mudd's, before departing the bus at Loyola, never to return. Due to this, I've packed up the various things that I won't need until I get to these specific places. I have pieces of wood for a splint (sadly not the remnants of a band box but it is of approximate thickness) and cotton strips with which the wrap and tie it, a couple of wool blankets and a saddle blanket for my time in the woods, and replicas of the mysterious pistols that showed up on Booth at Dr. Mudd's house. Then, of course, there's the smaller items like my diary, pocket knife, compass, etc. that I put into my coat pockets.

While I will have my cellphone with me in case of an emergency, I am going to keep it turned off. I *might* ask Lindsey to post updates on my Twitter account when she comes to visit me but I haven't decided yet. Even after I'm done, however, it will still take me a while to edit the footage and assemble a proper video of the experience. I'll be posting it on my blog after all that is done.

So, to make a long story even longer, I'm really looking forward to this experience (even though there's rain in the forecast). I know this adventure will be educational for me, and I hope it will be for others as well. I'm so grateful to have so many generous and supportive colleagues like you all.

[Gene C]

Good luck Dave. We look foreward to your sharing the experience with us.

[RJNorton]

Dave, I sent you well wishes in an email several days ago and now do the same on the forum. Good luck in this fascinating endeavor!