Manhunt page 4

 Manhunt page 4 by ric gustafson

Later in the afternoon of Good Friday, Booth visited a boardinghouse at 541 H Street. The proprietor was a 42 year old widow named Mary E Surratt. Her son was a Confederate courier and a friend of Booth's. Booth asked Surratt to hold a package  and other items until after the play performance. He told her he would be picking them up as he was on his way out of town. He had to leave Washington right after the performance. She agreed.

After stopping at Ford's Theatre, Booth returned to the National Hotel. He prepared his weapons. He decided his main weapon was going to be a Deringer. This was a 44 caliber single shot muzzle loading percussion cap pistol. It was a pocket sized handgun designed for concealment. This pistol could only be fired once. It took twenty to forty seconds  to reload. The pistol needed to be used at short range. The pistol's ball was a solid deadly round.

Booth's backup weapon was a sharp Bowie knife. Booth did not get the Derringer ready until late in the afternoon. 

Around 8:00 pm, Booth was at the Herndon House which was around the corner from Ford's Theatre. He was with some of his coconspirators. This was Lewis Powell, David Herold and George Atzerodt.

research help: ' Manhunt' by James L Swanson

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric