Booth, the Garretts and an Invitation to Tea

[Jim Garrett]

The account of the ferry landing at the edge of the Lightfoot property is also published in a book on Port Royal. The story of the Inn inn Port Royal, I had heard a slightly different version from David Storke, mayor of Bowling Green, and former resident of Port Royal. The story is essentially the same. The business was closed and the owner had a colored boy on the porch with a pail of water and a dipper. The instructions were if strangers came by, they could have a drink of water, but couldn't come up on the porch. I find it all very credible.

[L Verge]

Any idea where the Inn was located in Port Royal? Could it have been where the William Fox Tavern was/is? That is truly one of the places where George Washington slept a number of times. It also supposedly has slave shackles in the basement so that gentlemen travelers could assure the "safety" of their slaves as they slept over at the tavern.

Also, does the book on the history of the town give Rev. Fall's version of the landing, or is it documented with other sources?

[Jim Garrett]

Any idea where the Inn was located in Port Royal? Could it have been where the William Fox Tavern was/is? That is truly one of the places where George Washington slept a number of times. It also supposedly has slave shackles in the basement so that gentlemen travelers could assure the "safety" of their slaves as they slept over at the tavern.

Also, does the book on the history of the town give Rev. Fall's version of the landing, or is it documented with other sources?

I will look through my material on Port Royal and see if I can narrow it down.

[Linda Anderson]

Rev. Fall is the author of Hidden Village: Port Royal, Virginia 1744-1981. He is also listed in the acknowledgements in The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: "Pictorial Primer" by John C. Brennan.

https://archive.org/stream/assassination...ralph+fall

[Wild Bill]

Well, gang, all of history is remembrances that often contradict each other. You pays your money and you takes your choice, as they say. When it comes to stories like the Garretts' and Lightfoot's, family remembrances and personal memoirs from later in life, and one of the commentators is an experienced army intelligence officer who retires as a Brigadier General whom has spent a life making such choices and the other side is people like us (put yourself in here with me, if you like, or not), an amateur like me tends to stick with Tidwell--especially after I spent several weeks going through his papers in detail and cataloging them for the James O Hall Library. If you have not done likewise, I would suggest you do before making off-hand comment about his research, knowledge and experience in this field. Just sayin'

[Linda Anderson]

A Mr. Bowie is mentioned in the article about the Garretts by Frank A. Burr in the 12/11/1881 Boston Herald.

Richard Garrett's daughter Kate told Burr, "...I remember that on the evening before he [Booth] was shot, Mr. Bowie, who now keeps the hotel at Port Royal, had called, and we were all sitting on the porch when the subject of the assassination came up. When we began talking about it Booth arose, and went and lay down upon the grass by himself."

Page 65 of the Google Books snippet version of April 65 by William Tidwell states, "Shortly thereafter, in the fall of 1863, Bowie joined Mosby's Rangers.,."

Is this the same Bowie? Was he still with Mosby in April 1865?

[BettyO]

Linda -

Walter "Wat" Bowie, of Mosby's 43rd Battalion was killed during the war so no, this would not be the Mr. Bowie who ran a hotel in Port Royal....

[Linda Anderson]

Thanks, Betty. So he wasn't the same Bowie as the Mosby Ranger.

April 65 says that the Garretts' visitor was Allen Brockenbrough Bowie, a twenty-seven year old sergeant in Captain Thornton's Company, Lightfoot's Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery.

[L Verge]

Bowie is a very prominent name in Maryland history - especially Prince George's County history. Plantations, governors, all that other stuff related to wealth. Walter Bowie was of that Maryland family and is buried in the town that bears the Bowie name today. He was shot and killed not far from where Rick Smith lives today.

Looking at the other names in your last sentence makes me think that the Brockenbrough family is the connection. That family built what we now know as the Peyton House where Booth and Herold attempted to be taken in until Miss Sarah Peyton thought better of it. Champe Thornton was the owner of the ferry that crossed from Port Conway to Port Royal, and the Lightfoots were prominent citizens of Port Royal. The Sgt. Bowie may have had a father that came from the Bowies of Maryland. Maybe the fourth son who stood to inherit nothing and didn't choose to go into either the military or the priesthood -- which was the "line of succession" to the manor in England that was passed down to the early land grant holders in the colonies (at least south of the Mason-Dixon Line). Maybe one of the Bowies hopped across the Potomac from Southern Maryland the generation before and married a lovely Brockenbrough maiden. Sons' middle names often reflected their mother's maiden name.

[Rick Smith]

Linda -

Walter "Wat" Bowie, of Mosby's 43rd Battalion was killed during the war so no, this would not be the Mr. Bowie who ran a hotel in Port Royal....

You are right, Betty. On October 6,1864, while heading west from their failed attempt to kidnap the governor of Maryland at Annapolis, Wat Bowie and his men stopped at Sandy Spring and took supplies they needed from a store. They were pursued by a posse of angry Quakers {Sandy Spring was a Quaker community} and during the running fight, Wat took a shotgun charge to the upper body, neck and face and died not long afterwards on October 7. His death marked a great loss to The Cause.

[Jim Garrett]

I looked through my references and it appears the Gibb family was not in Port Royal until about 20 years after the war. The Bowie house, located on a small bluff next to the present day boat ramp, was used as a way station in colonial times. By 1865, it was long out of the Bowie family. I will try to get in touch with the current owner and see if it was a tavern, inn, hotel, etc in 1865. It's an absolutely a wonderful old home. Just in front of the Bowie house and closer to Rte 301 once stood Dr. Uquhart's house.

[Linda Anderson]

I looked through my references and it appears the Gibb family was not in Port Royal until about 20 years after the war. The Bowie house, located on a small bluff next to the present day boat ramp, was used as a way station in colonial times. By 1865, it was long out of the Bowie family. I will try to get in touch with the current owner and see if it was a tavern, inn, hotel, etc in 1865. It's an absolutely a wonderful old home. Just in front of the Bowie house and closer to Rte 301 once stood Dr. Uquhart's house.

Thanks, Jim. I found a Charles E. Gibbs, 37, Merchant, and Elizabeth Gibbs, 35, from Port Royal in the 1860 Census.

Here is the Family Search listing for Elizabeth Gibbs.

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M41P-DTY

[Jim Garrett]

Great job Linda. I was looking through the homeowners, and the lists of business people in "Hidden Village". I also checked a couple of other references. 1860 Census.............Duh!