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A Shift in Plans The hour has come when I must change my plan. Many. .. will blame me for what I am about to do, but posterity, I am sure, will justi+ me. 3oh7z Wilkes Booth Two days after the all-night meeting at Gautier's restaurant, Booth stopped by Ford's Theatre. His fame as a star performer produced a regular stream of mail from admirers. A portion of this mail was addressed to Booth, in care of Ford's Theatre. Booth had no permanent or "home" address simply because he had no permanent home. For all of his fame, his name cannot be found among any of the standard records of the period. Born in Maryland, he regularly listed himself as being from Baltimore, yet he is not found among any Balti~nore or Maryland records of the period. His name is not in any of the Baltimore city directories of the day,nor even the 1860census for Maryland. There isno birth certificate and no death certificate.]Booth's home waswherever he happened to be at any given moment. John Ford's Theatre was, in some ways, Booth's home. The Ford brothers were good friends of Booth and believed him to be a bright and personable character who was admired by nearly everyone who knew him. Stopping by the theater on the morning of the seventeenth, Booth apparently learned that Lincoln was scheduled to visit a group of convalescing soldiers at the Campbell Hospital located at the far end of Seventh Street near the District line.' members of the Washington Theatre's stock company were scheduled to perform a play by the title of Still Waten Run Deep, for the soldiers at the hospital. Here was the very opportunity Booth had been waiting for. The stretch of road leading to the hospital was rural and lightly traveled. It was close to the Eastern Branch River Bridge that led into Maryland. Within minutes of snatching Lincoln, Booth and his cohortscould be across the river heading for southern Maryland. It seemed like a godsend to Booth. He quickly sent word to each of the men to come at once to a restaurant located near the hospital.They soon arrived:Arnold, O'Laughlen, Powell, Atzerodt, Herold, and Surratt. Booth's network worked perfectly. Despite their differences over strategy, they were all still in the game. 86 Blood on the ~Moo~z Booth sent Herold off in a buggy to Surratt's tavern in Surrattsville with the necessary paraphernalia thatwould be needed for the journey southall except the food and liquor. Booth had sent those on to Dr. Mudd7shouse two weeks bef0re.j Herold carried two double-barreled shotguns, two Spencer carbines, a pistol, ammunition, a knife, a length of rope, and a monkey ~ r e n c h . ~ The weapons' usefulness was obvious. The rope would come in handy to string across the road to unseat any cavalrythat might uy to follow them: perhaps amateurish, but possibly effective. Even if such a booby trap failed to work, its mere discovery would force pursuing cavalry to negotiate the trail with caution, thus slowing them down. The wrench would be used to remove the wheels of the president's carriage so it could be safelysecured on the boat used to ferry it across the river. The plan was to overtake the president's carriage, capture Lincoln, and dispose of the driver. With the president secure, the captors would make a dash for the Eastern Branch of the Potomac River and, crossing over into Maryland, make a run through Prince George's and Charles Counties to the Potomac. In his Rockville lecture Surratt explained the plan: One day we received information that the President would visit the Seventh Street Hospital for the purpose of being present at an entertainment to be given for the benefit of the wounded soldiers. The report only reached us about three quarters of an hour before the time appointed, but so perfect was our communication that we were instantly in our saddles on the way to the hospital. This was between one and two o'clock in the afternoon. It was our intention to seize the carriage, which was drawn by a splendid pair of horses, and to have one of the men mount the box and drive direct for southern Maryland via Benning's bridge.' We felt confident that all the cavalry in the city could never overhaul us. fire were all mounted on swift horses, besides...

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