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9. Booth traveled by wagon to the Rappahannock River
Booth’s diary entries describing his reception in Virginia continued to reveal his belief that his act had been justified. He whined repeatedly and at length of the mistreatment befalling him in Maryland and Virginia. On April 24 he encountered some Confederate soldiers returning to their homes, to whom Booth presented himself as John W. Boyd. Booth rode in a wagon, accompanied by the soldiers, to a ferry on the Rappahannock River at King George. After crossing the river the soldiers remained with Booth until they reached Bowling Green. There, Booth and Herold went to a farm owned by Richard Garrett. The Garrett family later told federal troops they were unaware of the assassination when the two men approached them, identifying themselves as former Confederate soldiers. They asked for food and temporary shelter, to which the Garrett’s complied.
Booth and Herold arrived at the Garrett farm on April 24, the same day a detachment of US Cavalry left Washington by steamboat to track down the fugitives in Virginia. Interrogation of several of the Marylanders who had encountered Booth led to the knowledge the fugitives has arrived there. The detachment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Everton Conger, an experienced intelligence officer. After a journey of almost 70 miles downriver on the Potomac the detachment arrived at Belle Plain, Virginia, around ten o’clock that evening. As they did, Booth and Herold were enjoying the hospitality of the Garrett’s just a few miles away. On April 25, Conger tracked down the Confederate soldiers still in the area, including one William Jett. Jett informed Conger he had led two men answering the descriptions of Booth and Herold to the Garrett farm. Jett was arrested for his contact with Booth.