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10. The Garretts grew suspicious of their guests throughout the day of April 25
On the first night of their stay with the Garretts, John Wilkes Booth and Herold had dinner with the family and slept in their home, Booth’s first night in a bed since his brief rest at Samuel Mudd’s house. According to an account written by Richard Garrett years later, only Booth arrived on April 24, dressed in the remnants of a Confederate uniform, and accompanied by William Jett. The following day, Booth, known to the Garretts as Boyd, rested in their home. During the day, the family learned for the first time of the assassination of President Lincoln, and the pursuit into Virginia. About four o’clock that afternoon, William Jett returned, accompanied by Herold, whom Booth introduced to the Garretts as Harris. Shortly afterward, a rider approached the Garrett home with the news of federal troops nearby. Both Boyd and Harris, armed with pistols, retreated to the nearby woods.
After a group of Union cavalry rode past the farm the fugitives returned, and offered cash in return for taking them, hidden in a wagon, to nearby Guinea Station. The Garretts refused. Instead, one of the Garrett sons approached a Black farmer with property nearby, extending the offer on behalf of Boyd. The farmer agreed, and told the fugitives he would bring his wagon to the Garrett farm at dawn the following morning. A suspicious Richard Garrett, the father of the family, ordered his sons to watch them closely, before retiring for the night. The brothers, concerned the pair of strangers may attempt to steal the family’s horses during the night, led them to a tobacco barn, where they arranged a bed of hay before locking them in for the night. They then slept in a nearby haybarn, where they would hear if their guests attempted to break out.