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→Escape and death
As Booth and Herold were crossing the [[Rappahannock River]], they were greeted by three former Confederate soldiers. 1st Lt. Mortimer B. Ruggles, his cousin Pvt. Absalom R. Bainbridge along with Pvt. William S. Jett. Later Herold boasted to the soldiers that they had killed President Lincoln. Jett aided Booth and Herold by eventually finding shelter for the pair at the Garrett farm. Herold then left Booth at the Garrett farm with the three soldiers and headed for [[Bowling Green, Virginia]]. The men stopped at a tavern, described by some as a "house of entertainment," and continued chatting and drinking for several hours. Herold spent the night of April 23 at a nearby family farm. The next morning two ex-Confederate soldiers brought Herold back to the Garrett farm.
As Booth and Herold were crossing the [[Rappahannock River]], they were greeted by three former Confederate soldiers. 1st Lt. Mortimer B. Ruggles, his cousin Pvt. Absalom R. Bainbridge along with Pvt. William S. Jett. Later Herold boasted to the soldiers that they had killed President Lincoln. Jett aided Booth and Herold by eventually finding shelter for the pair at the Garrett farm. Herold then left Booth at the Garrett farm with the three soldiers and headed for [[Bowling Green, Virginia]]. The men stopped at a tavern, described by some as a "house of entertainment," and continued chatting and drinking for several hours. Herold spent the night of April 23 at a nearby family farm. The next morning two ex-Confederate soldiers brought Herold back to the Garrett farm.
During his run he managed to pencil a few entries to a diary explaining his actions; he never regreted killing Lincoln, and in one line sought to place part of the responsibility on God:
:''"I can never repent it, though we hated to kill: Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment. The country is not what it was. This forced union is not what I have loved. I care not what becomes of me. I have no desire to out-live my country [i.e., the Confederacy]. This night (before the deed), I wrote a long article and left it for one of the Editors of the National Inteligencer, in which I fully set forth our reasons for our proceedings."'' [http://dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/ishs-1979february/ishs-1979february39.pdf]
Meanwhile, twenty-five members of the 16th New York Cavalry unit, under the command of Lt. Edward Doherty, were following Booth's trail. Lt. Doherty had found out from a shad fisherman, Dick Wilson, that Pvt. Jett had been on the ferry with Booth on the morning of April 24. Doherty was also told that Jett had a girl friend in nearby Bowling Green and Jett could be found there.
Meanwhile, twenty-five members of the 16th New York Cavalry unit, under the command of Lt. Edward Doherty, were following Booth's trail. Lt. Doherty had found out from a shad fisherman, Dick Wilson, that Pvt. Jett had been on the ferry with Booth on the morning of April 24. Doherty was also told that Jett had a girl friend in nearby Bowling Green and Jett could be found there.
Booth had been shot in the neck. As he was laid on a wooden porch, he was found to be paralyzed from the neck down and whispering "tell my mother I did it for my country.” As he lay dying, he asked that his hands, so instrumental to his acting skills, be held up to his face. “Useless…useless” was his last words. [http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/booth.htm]
Booth had been shot in the neck. As he was laid on a wooden porch, he was found to be paralyzed from the neck down and whispering "tell my mother I did it for my country.” As he lay dying, he asked that his hands, so instrumental to his acting skills, be held up to his face. “Useless…useless” was his last words. [http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/booth.htm]
The remains of Booth were placed onboard the monitor USS ''Montawk'', then anchored in the Potomac, where they were positively identified by acquaintences who had known Booth, and physicians who had kept detailed medical and dental records of him. The body was placed in a pine box and buried on the grounds of the Old Capitol Prison - where four of his fellow conspirators would soon join him after their trial and execution in June, 1865 - and there they stayed for two years before being released to the Booth family for burial in Baltimore. Beneath an imposing obelisk he lies buried in an unmarked grave; occassionally a court reviews a petition to exhume to body to determine if it is really Booth's or that of a double, according to the many conspiracy theories. Each time the request is denied.
The remains of Booth were placed onboard the monitor USS ''Montawk'', then anchored in the Potomac, where they were positively identified by acquaintences who had known Booth, and physicians who had kept detailed medical and dental records of him. The body was placed in a pine box and buried on the grounds of the Old Capitol Prison - where four of his fellow conspirators would soon join him after their trial and execution in June, 1865 - and there they stayed for two years before being released to the Booth family for burial in Baltimore. Beneath an imposing obelisk he lies buried in an unmarked grave; occassionally a court reviews a petition to exhume to body to determine if it is really Booth's or that of a double, according to the many conspiracy theories. Each time the request is denied.
==References==
==References==
*Helm, Katherine. ''Mary, Wife of Lincoln''; New York, Harper and Brothers (1928).
*Helm, Katherine. ''Mary, Wife of Lincoln''; New York, Harper and Brothers (1928).