Thomas A Jones

[Jim Page]

I believe Laurie has hit the nail on the head with that comment. I am sending her an electronic bag of cookies for her insight.

I sure would like to know the true story of what occurred during those five "thicket" days. It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't find out one day. A lot of folks back then tended to write stuff down.

--Jim

[LincolnMan]

(06-03-2015 12:12 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  I'd be willing to bet that Thomas Jones covered up or chose not to mention a great deal in his little book.

For one thing, I don't believe his "Booth and Herold hiding in the pine thicket" story. I just can't see Booth doing that for five days with little more than he could carry in a saddlebag. I don't know what the weather was during the 12 days Booth and Herold were on the run, but I've lived through some cold and wet Aprils since I moved to this area.

My belief is that he and probably Herold were given shelter by someone and Jones didn't want to get that someone in trouble by spilling the beans. I got the sense from reading his book that he had a strong sense of loyalty and once he gave his word to keep something secret, he wouldn't violate that oath.

I've also spoken to folks who live in the part of Maryland where Booth and Herold were that hint at family histories/legends/tales suggesting more went on than was told in Jones' account.

Just my own belief and I don't expect anyone to agree!

--Jim

Jim: is Jones the primary-or only source for the story that Booth and Herald hid in the pine thickets?

[Jim Page]

Bill, I'm not to be trusted with such a question, but I believe he was the sole source. Jim Garrett or Lindsey Horn, can one of you chime in?

[Jim Garrett]

It's great to see such an informed group (Jim Page included) believe that Booth and Herold may very well spent those few days elsewhere. I agree wholeheartedly with Laurie, Thomas Harbin and Thomas Jones were still on duty. I think it amazing that after his return from self imposed exile, Thomas Harbin is the front desk clerk at the National Hotel. An ideal spot to watch a lot of comings and goings.

[Wild Bill]

The item that you all would like to see is the Owens Report. Owen was a black employee of the Adams Tavern in Newport, MD., who saw Booth and Herold coming into that area from the north--Did not Dr William Queen live up that way? He places Booth and Herold at the Tavern and concealed nearby. This differs markedly from Thomas Jones' tale. I understand that members of the Queen family told Rick Smith a while ago that a family legend has the horses from Booth and Herold living their lives out on the Queen place. Owen did not survive his imprisonment, probably beaten for his information. He also knew about rowing Confederate agents Harbin and Baden across he Potomac from Banks O'Dee to near the Quesenberry plantation in Virginia. This sent Lafayette C Baker on Booth's trail to Garrett's farm.

The article you all want to see is J. E. “Rick” Smith, III, “The Owens Statement,” Surratt Courier, 32 (No. 10, October 2007), 3-6.

[L Verge]

(06-16-2015 08:16 AM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  It's great to see such an informed group (Jim Page included) believe that Booth and Herold may very well spent those few days elsewhere. I agree wholeheartedly with Laurie, Thomas Harbin and Thomas Jones were still on duty. I think it amazing that after his return from self imposed exile, Thomas Harbin is the front desk clerk at the National Hotel. An ideal spot to watch a lot of comings and goings.

And that Dr. Richard Stuart was a major stockholder in the National Hotel...

---

(06-15-2015 06:31 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  Bill, I'm not to be trusted with such a question, but I believe he was the sole source. Jim Garrett or Lindsey Horn, can one of you chime in?

I'm not Jim nor Lindsey, but I believe that Jim Page is correct in that Thomas Jones is the sole source for the reference to the pine thicket. He may first have mentioned it in his interview with George Alfred Townsend and then put it in his own book.

I have always wanted to see an aerial view of the area between today's Bel Alton-Newtown Road (the access route closest to the so-called pine thicket today) and the Newport and Allen's Fresh area. To me, that might give a hint as to how extensive the area was and if it would have been feasible for Booth and Herold to move from Point A to Point B without detection in between.

Bel Alton wasn't there at that time, and its first name was Cox's Station when the railroad went through after the war, so the Bel Alton-Newtown Road probably did not exist at that time (unless as a farm road). Straight highways like Route 301 weren't there either, so in my mind, we have to consider where the fugitives could have wandered without being seen by troops and others who might not cooperate. I also think that, the closer they got to the river, the more they could depend on people helping or keeping quiet. Those citizens had assisted in the Secret Line (or at least played dumb) for four years.

When Rick Smith first found the Owens's statement in Mr. Hall's files at Surratt House, he noticed that Hall had written in the margin to the effect that Owens needed to be studied more because he sure knew an awful lot.

[Jim Page]

Wow. With Jim G's, Wild Bill's, and Laurie's comments, this thread is sure getting interesting!

Laurie wrote:
>>I have always wanted to see an aerial view of the area between today's Bel Alton-Newtown Road
>>(the access route closest to the so-called pine thicket today) and the Newport and Allen's Fresh area.
>>To me, that might give a hint as to how extensive the area was and if it would have been feasible
>>for Booth and Herold to move from Point A to Point B without detection in between.

We should get together and do this and soon. It should be very informative.

--Jim

[L Verge]

(06-16-2015 12:15 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  Wow. With Jim G's, Wild Bill's, and Laurie's comments, this thread is sure getting interesting!

Laurie wrote:
>>I have always wanted to see an aerial view of the area between today's Bel Alton-Newtown Road
>>(the access route closest to the so-called pine thicket today) and the Newport and Allen's Fresh area.
>>To me, that might give a hint as to how extensive the area was and if it would have been feasible
>>for Booth and Herold to move from Point A to Point B without detection in between.

We should get together and do this and soon. It should be very informative.

--Jim

Find a partner and do it. You ain't gettin me in no airplane!

[Rick Smith]

The distance between Bel Alton and Newport is about 8 miles. A horse walks at 4 miles per hour; trots at 8 miles per hour and canters or hand gallops at 12 miles per hour. It would have taken Booth, Herold & Samuel Cox, Jr. {the "white boy" referred to by James Owens, in my opinion} an hour or so to reach Newport and arrive on that Thursday evening {April 20} "about supper time," Owens' words again, used when describing the "strangers" who rode into the village and up to the front of the Adams Tavern, owned by Austin & Adele Adams. Adams & Owens were doing the same sort of thing in their neighborhood that Jones & Woodland were doing further up stream.

It really is very simple; hundreds of federal soldiers, detectives and private citizens are hunting Booth. To keep him safe, he must be moved to a new location every time that pressure is brought to bear on his present location, until it is time to move for the River. They are led to Jones at Huckleberry by the white boy, who afterward returns leading the horses. Again, this is from Owens who was being interrogated by the federals. He was later interrogated much more pointedly at the Old Capitol and was destined never to come out alive. My feeling is that the federals could not get what they wanted from him, because he just did not know, and that he died while being "questioned."

[Jim Page]

(06-16-2015 02:35 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Find a partner and do it. You ain't gettin me in no airplane!

This may be a case for the Two Jims. That way, I won't have to fly either!!!

[L Verge]

[quote='Rick Smith' pid='48626' dateline='1434491698']
The distance between Bel Alton and Newport is about 8 miles. A horse walks at 4 miles per hour; trots at 8 miles per hour and canters or hand gallops at 12 miles per hour. It would have taken Booth, Herold & Samuel Cox, Jr. {the "white boy" referred to by James Owens, in my opinion} an hour or so to reach Newport and arrive on that Thursday evening {April 20} "about supper time," Owens' words again, used when describing the "strangers" who rode into the village and up to the front of the Adams Tavern, owned by Austin & Adele Adams. Adams & Owens were doing the same sort of thing in their neighborhood that Jones & Woodland were doing further up stream.

It really is very simple; hundreds of federal soldiers, detectives and private citizens are hunting Booth. To keep him safe, he must be moved to a new location every time that pressure is brought to bear on his present location, until it is time to move for the River. They are led to Jones at Huckleberry by the white boy, who afterward returns leading the horses. Again, this is from Owens who was being interrogated by the federals. He was later interrogated much more pointedly at the Old Capitol and was destined never to come out alive. My feeling is that the federals could not get what they wanted from him, because he just did not know, and that he died while being "questioned."
----------------------------------------

Does Owens actually imply that the fugitives were taken directly to Huckleberry? Jones had a passel of kids who could blab, he would not have wanted to put them directly in harm's way, and he was already under suspicion (proven by Willams's offer of the huge reward). Surely he would have smuggled the pair somewhere else less visible. I have never been to the end of Old Faulkner Road, but my suspicion is that their hiding place - after leaving Newport - would be somewhere in that vicinity. Remember that there is mention made somewhere about the dogs starting to bark as they passed this one house - which still stands a short distance off of 301.

One of my projects for the Surratt Conference in 2016 is to put together a Friday tour to "Charles County: Maryland's Confederacy." You don't know it yet, but I am recruiting you and Dave Taylor to do my legwork in narrating it. I am very familiar with the various places that I want to include, except for the Allen's Fresh and Newport region. At some point after the heat and humidity have departed Southern Maryland, I would like to drive that area with you as my guide. [Note to anyone nefarious who might be reading this and thinking of stealing my idea: Forget it, I'll hunt you down!]

Hint to those with ties to Tudor Hall: I also want a way to get a bus onto the property there for a tour on Sunday of the conference. Who do I have to bribe?

[Rick Smith]

(06-16-2015 06:09 PM)L Verge Wrote:  [quote='Rick Smith' pid='48626' dateline='1434491698']
The distance between Bel Alton and Newport is about 8 miles. A horse walks at 4 miles per hour; trots at 8 miles per hour and canters or hand gallops at 12 miles per hour. It would have taken Booth, Herold & Samuel Cox, Jr. {the "white boy" referred to by James Owens, in my opinion} an hour or so to reach Newport and arrive on that Thursday evening {April 20} "about supper time," Owens' words again, used when describing the "strangers" who rode into the village and up to the front of the Adams Tavern, owned by Austin & Adele Adams. Adams & Owens were doing the same sort of thing in their neighborhood that Jones & Woodland were doing further up stream.

It really is very simple; hundreds of federal soldiers, detectives and private citizens are hunting Booth. To keep him safe, he must be moved to a new location every time that pressure is brought to bear on his present location, until it is time to move for the River. They are led to Jones at Huckleberry by the white boy, who afterward returns leading the horses. Again, this is from Owens who was being interrogated by the federals. He was later interrogated much more pointedly at the Old Capitol and was destined never to come out alive. My feeling is that the federals could not get what they wanted from him, because he just did not know, and that he died while being "questioned."

Does Owens actually imply that the fugitives were taken directly to Huckleberry? Jones had a passel of kids who could blab, he would not have wanted to put them directly in harm's way, and he was already under suspicion (proven by Willams's offer of the huge reward). Surely he would have smuggled the pair somewhere else less visible. I have never been to the end of Old Faulkner Road, but my suspicion is that their hiding place - after leaving Newport - would be somewhere in that vicinity. Remember that there is mention made somewhere about the dogs starting to bark as they passed this one house - which still stands a short distance off of 301.

One of my projects for the Surratt Conference in 2016 is to put together a Friday tour to "Charles County: Maryland's Confederacy." You don't know it yet, but I am recruiting you and Dave Taylor to do my legwork in narrating it. I am very familiar with the various places that I want to include, except for the Allen's Fresh and Newport region. At some point after the heat and humidity have departed Southern Maryland, I would like to drive that area with you as my guide. [Note to anyone nefarious who might be reading this and thinking of stealing my idea: Forget it, I'll hunt you down!]

Hint to those with ties to Tudor Hall: I also want a way to get a bus onto the property there for a tour on Sunday of the conference. Who do I have to bribe?

Laurie,

James Owens says that he last saw the strangers heading to the west towards Popes Creek and the home of Thomas Jones with the white boy leading them {paraphrasing here}. Then, later, the white boy comes back with the horses. Wild Bill mentioned in a post that I had some of Dr. Queen's descendants on one of my tours at Surratt's. It was very interesting as they told me that the family history handed down to them was that the horses came to Dr. Queen's farm. This all ties things together for me. Either the horses were faked before they came to Dr. Queen or afterwards and were pastured & stabled with others is most likely.

As to the tour of Bel Alton to Newport and wherever; it would be my great pleasure to drive you over the area. I am at your service.

Rick

[L Verge]

(06-16-2015 06:27 PM)Rick Smith Wrote:  

(06-16-2015 06:09 PM)L Verge Wrote:  [quote='Rick Smith' pid='48626' dateline='1434491698']
The distance between Bel Alton and Newport is about 8 miles. A horse walks at 4 miles per hour; trots at 8 miles per hour and canters or hand gallops at 12 miles per hour. It would have taken Booth, Herold & Samuel Cox, Jr. {the "white boy" referred to by James Owens, in my opinion} an hour or so to reach Newport and arrive on that Thursday evening {April 20} "about supper time," Owens' words again, used when describing the "strangers" who rode into the village and up to the front of the Adams Tavern, owned by Austin & Adele Adams. Adams & Owens were doing the same sort of thing in their neighborhood that Jones & Woodland were doing further up stream.

It really is very simple; hundreds of federal soldiers, detectives and private citizens are hunting Booth. To keep him safe, he must be moved to a new location every time that pressure is brought to bear on his present location, until it is time to move for the River. They are led to Jones at Huckleberry by the white boy, who afterward returns leading the horses. Again, this is from Owens who was being interrogated by the federals. He was later interrogated much more pointedly at the Old Capitol and was destined never to come out alive. My feeling is that the federals could not get what they wanted from him, because he just did not know, and that he died while being "questioned."

Does Owens actually imply that the fugitives were taken directly to Huckleberry? Jones had a passel of kids who could blab, he would not have wanted to put them directly in harm's way, and he was already under suspicion (proven by Willams's offer of the huge reward). Surely he would have smuggled the pair somewhere else less visible. I have never been to the end of Old Faulkner Road, but my suspicion is that their hiding place - after leaving Newport - would be somewhere in that vicinity. Remember that there is mention made somewhere about the dogs starting to bark as they passed this one house - which still stands a short distance off of 301.

One of my projects for the Surratt Conference in 2016 is to put together a Friday tour to "Charles County: Maryland's Confederacy." You don't know it yet, but I am recruiting you and Dave Taylor to do my legwork in narrating it. I am very familiar with the various places that I want to include, except for the Allen's Fresh and Newport region. At some point after the heat and humidity have departed Southern Maryland, I would like to drive that area with you as my guide. [Note to anyone nefarious who might be reading this and thinking of stealing my idea: Forget it, I'll hunt you down!]

Hint to those with ties to Tudor Hall: I also want a way to get a bus onto the property there for a tour on Sunday of the conference. Who do I have to bribe?

Laurie,

James Owens says that he last saw the strangers heading to the west towards Popes Creek and the home of Thomas Jones with the white boy leading them {paraphrasing here}. Then, later, the white boy comes back with the horses. Wild Bill mentioned in a post that I had some of Dr. Queen's descendants on one of my tours at Surratt's. It was very interesting as they told me that the family history handed down to them was that the horses came to Dr. Queen's farm. This all ties things together for me. Either the horses were faked before they came to Dr. Queen or afterwards and were pastured & stabled with others is most likely.

As to the tour of Bel Alton to Newport and wherever; it would be my great pleasure to drive you over the area. I am at your service.

Rick

Thanks my friend, and you will be our Newport guide if this can be pulled together. Didn't know that you had the Queen descendants on tour, or I would have had you beg for a photo of Dr. Queen (if one exists). It also makes perfect sense that Queen's family would be involved in securing the escape of Booth. The then-deceased doctor had been Booth's first point of contact in Southern Maryland and the one who summoned Mudd to a church outside of his parish that Sunday in November of 1864.

I must say that I often giggle a bit about all the fuss that some historians have made over what happened to those horses. In my mind, the horses couldn't keep their mouths shut and might give away their position, so they had to be separated from the fugitives. However, to destroy them would (to me) be like those idiots today who burn a Porsche after they have stolen it and had a joy ride all night. It don't make sense, lord...

The Union troops were not looking specifically for horses. They were looking for humans. Once those horses parted from Booth and Herold, they could have lived for years in Charles County without anyone searching for them. Even the stablemen from D.C. would have been unable to search every stable and field in Charles County or lower Prince George's to retrieve those animals. They had no photos of the horses for identification, and I suspect that horses matching the description of those two were pretty prevalent in Southern Maryland.

BTW: Descendants of Franklin Robey, the Cox overseer, told me about thirty years ago that they still had one of the saddles from the horses. I suspect there is no way of proving it, but it sounds feasible.

[RJNorton]

(06-16-2015 10:32 AM)Wild Bill Wrote:  The article you all want to see is J. E. “Rick” Smith, III, “The Owens Statement,” Surratt Courier, 32 (No. 10, October 2007), 3-6.

Rick was kind enough to send his article. Thank you, Rick!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

THE OWENS STATEMENT

by

Rick Smith

After the assassination of President Lincoln, Colonel Henry H. Wells, Provost Marshall for the Military District of Washington, was appointed to find information that would lead to the arrest of the President’s killer. In the course of his investigation, Wells set up a temporary headquarters at the Bryantown Hotel, where he would “interview” and then take statements from those who had been arrested by his officers for questioning in the matter. To give the reader some small insight into Wells’s methods, one of those arrested and questioned was Thomas Jones, who said that Wells was “The bloodthirstiest man I ever saw.”

On April 22, Wells had already squeezed John Lloyd, who had directed Wells’s attention to Austin L. Adams, a tavern keeper at Newport, Maryland. Adams, his wife Adeline, and an employee, James Owens, were quickly arrested and brought to Bryantown for a little chat with Colonel Wells. Owens was a farm laborer and a fisherman who also worked at Adams Tavern. James Owens’s “statement” to Colonel Wells, which follows, is worth reading more than once.

Bryantown, Md. April 28, 1865, James Owens, farm hand, living with Mr. Austin L. Adams, who keeps a sort of tavern at Newport, Md. states:

About two weeks ago, it was on a Thursday night, I was at home; it was pretty late, nearly supper time, when two men came there on horse back, accompanied by a white boy, they got off their horses, and the boy took them and went away. One of the horses was a roan, or iron gray, and the other was a light bay with a small star on the forehead. One of these men was lame and carried a crutch; he wore a cloth slipper on his right foot, and carried the crutch under his right arm. He had on a close-bodied coat and wore a shawl; he was a stouter man than the other, who was a small man, I think that he had very light whiskers; he wore two coats and a soft, black, low-crowned hat with a narrow brim. They came to our place and Mrs. Adams was there but Mr. Adams was away, he came home about half an hour after they came; I was not at the house when they came, but was at work, and left them talking with Mr. and Mrs. Adams. I heard the big man who was lame ask if there were any Yankees or soldiers around there; and Mr. Adams told him there had been none for two or three months. Mr. Adams’s place is at Newport, about six miles from the Potomac. That was all I heard them say. Mrs. Adams told them they could not stay there, but that she would give them something to eat. I suppose she was afraid to let them stay there because she was also afraid the soldiers would come and catch them. They stayed in the pines near the house until next evening which was Friday night and were at the house off and on at different times; they did not lodge at Mr. Adams’s, but only got meals there. They left in the evening after dark, and went towards Popes Creek where Thomas Jones lives. A Mr. Bateman, I don’t know his first name, who lives at the oak on the roadside about three miles from Newport, as you go through Allen’s Fresh towards Cobb Neck, told me that Jones put them across the Potomac. They crossed from Popes Creek a little above Mrs. [?] Watson’s on the creek. This was a place where they had a boat hid. A man named Lomax used to fish there on the river, gilling shad. I don’t know Lomax’s first name. Bateman told me that the men got over the Potomac all right and I judge that he and Jones rowed them across by his saying that they got over all right and by what the folks said. The nearest point on the Virginia side opposite Popes Creek is Matthias Point. Their horses came back this way in charge of the boy, if I were to try to find them I would inquire of the people there who saw them, Mr. A_bey [Robey?] or Oliver who keeps a store there. I judge______saw these men but I did not hear him say anything about them. Tom Downey, who lives at Newport and Mr. Budd, who lives about two miles the other side of Newport, and some other folks that I don’t know, I judge saw them. I heard gentlemen, that I don’t know, ask Mrs. Adams where these men were going, and she said they were going to Pope’s Creek to cross the Potomac. I know Thomas Harbin and Joseph Bayden [sic]. They came to Mr. Adams from this way about two weeks ago. I think they came on Tuesday before I heard of the death of the President. They stayed there about a week, and went away on Saturday night. There was another man with them that I didn’t know. I was fishing with gill nets and they came to me and I put them across a little run at Allen’s Fresh, on the other side from Mr. Adams, toward the Potomac. They didn’t tell me where they were going. They gave me five dollars to put them across the run. I put them across on a Saturday. They were going towards the Banks of Dee. I heard Harbin say he was going there. I have not seen them since, and do not know whether they have come back or not.

In his files at the James O. Hall Research Center, there is included a note written by Mr. Hall regarding the Owens statement, which says in part, “. . . but I don’t really know what to make of it. One thing is for sure, Owens had a heck of a lot of information about a lot of things.”

I am particularly fascinated by the two unnamed men described by Owens who came on horseback [the horses descriptions are of special note] to Adams’s Tavern. The statement is not just food for thought, it is a feast. I make no claims, nor will I add any personal views, although I hold strong beliefs as regards James Owens’s statement; but I would only ask that you read, then read again, this remarkable statement and consider how it fits into the assassination drama. Mr. Hall was right, James Owens had a heck of a lot of information about a lot of things.

With a view towards trying to establish who the two unnamed men were that Owens describes in his statement, let’s take a look at the horses that Booth and Herold were known to have been riding, through the eyes of others who saw them, as compared to those that the two “unnamed men” rode into Newport.

 John Fletcher, Stable Manager, Washington City:

“He was a light roan horse, black tail, black legs, and mane, and close to fifteen
hands high.” [Describing the horse that he had rented to David Herold on April 14].

 Sgt. Silas T. Cobb, in command of the guard at the Navy Yard Bridge, night of April 14:

“He rode a small-sized horse, rather an under-sized horse, I should think, a very bright
bay, with a shining skin [this was probably due to sweat], and it looked as though he had just had a short burst …”
[Describing the horse that Wilkes Booth rode].

“He rode a medium-sized roan horse. I should think the horse was going at a heavy racking pace …” [Describing the horse {and its gait} ridden by Herold].

 Polk Gardiner, Traveler on the Bryantown Road, on his way to Washington City, night of April 14:

“I met two horsemen …” “The first, who was on a dark horse, I think a bay, asked me if a horseman had passed ahead …” [Referring to Booth & the horse he was riding].

“As the second horseman rode up…” “He rode a roan horse, a light horse, a roan or an iron gray.” [Referring to Herold & the horse he rode].

 John Lloyd, Tavern Keeper, Surrattsville, about midnight, April 14:

“The moon was shining when the men came. The man whose leg was broken was on a light-colored horse; I supposed it to be a gray horse, in the moonlight. It was a large horse, I supposed some sixteen hands high; the other, ridden by Herold, was a bay, and not so large. [Describing both horses. Note that by this time Booth and Herold had switched mounts. Because of his injuries, Booth would have been more comfortable on the larger animal, which had a much smoother gait than the small, skittish bay mare that he had ridden out of the city].

 James Owens, again, from his statement to Col. Wells:

“…Two men came there on horseback, accompanied by a white boy, they got off their horses, and the boy took them and went away. One of the horses was a roan, or iron gray, and the other was a light bay with a small star on the forehead.”

“…Their horses came back this way in charge of the boy, if I were to try to find them I would inquire of the people there who saw them, Mr. A_bey [sic] or Oliver who keeps a store there.”

We’ve considered the description of the horses, now let’s take a closer look at the two unnamed men themselves and compare them with what you know of Booth and Herold. Here is how Owens describes the two unnamed men who rode into Newport (which lies about 6 ½ miles northeast from Pope’s Creek and also about 6 ½ miles from the Potomac) and came to the tavern of Austin L. Adams:

 “… two men came there on horseback …”

The first man, the larger one, described by Owens:

 “One of these men was lame and carried a crutch …”

 “… he wore a cloth slipper on his right foot …”

 “… and carried the crutch under his right arm.”

 “He had on a close-bodied coat and wore a shawl …”

 “… he was stouter than the other, who was a small man …”

 “… heard the big man who was lame ask if there had been any Yankees or soldiers around there …”


The second man, the smaller one, described by Owens:

 “… I think that he had very light whiskers …”

 “… he wore two coats and a soft, black, low crowned hat with a narrow brim …”

 “They stayed in the pines near the house until next evening which was Friday night …”

 “…were at the house off and on at different times …”

 “… they did not lodge at Mr. Adams’, but only got meals there …”

 “They left in the evening after dark, and went towards Pope’s Creek where Thomas Jones lives.”

 “… Mr. Bateman … told me that Jones put them across the Potomac.”

 “Bateman told me that the men got over the Potomac all right …”

 “Their horses came back this way in charge of the boy…”


Hopefully, this offers much to think about and may possibly lead some to reconsider the route of escape taken by John Wilkes Booth and David Herold while they were under the watchful care of Thomas Jones.

[Rick Smith]

Roger,

Thank you for posting the article.

Rick