3. Booth broke his leg when his horse fell during his escape
At some point, Booth’s horse fell as he fled. Herold claimed to have witnessed the fall, so it took place on the road in Maryland, and Booth told Dr. Mudd he had injured it in the fall. At midnight, Booth and Herold arrived at Surrat’s Tavern, where they had previously arranged to pick up guns and supplies to sustain them as they made their way to Virginia. While there, Booth remained mounted when Herold went in to collect their supplies, and told John Lloyd, a tenant, that he had killed the President. The fugitives then continued riding south, until they were near Bryantown.
They stopped at the farm of a man known to Herold, Dr. Samuel Mudd. The doctor set Booth’s broken leg, and recognizing the pain riding would cause his patient, he waited until daybreak before going to Bryantown, in search of a cart or buggy for the actor. He found the town crowded with Union cavalry and learned that they were searching for the famous actor John Wilkes Booth. Mudd returned to his farm and allowed his visitors to rest until late in the day, when they departed with Booth again on horseback, hoping to find Confederate sympathizers to help him escape to Virginia and the Confederacy.