Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-29
IN ssBOOTH'S DIARY" GENUINE
IRRECONCILABLE DlSCREPAN'

by the Secretary OF W ar. A cOTrespOh-
dent Of the New York World advances
the theory that it was written for the occa-
sion by some expert in the sensational line,
by the procurement of Detective Baker.
This correspondent argues that man in
the condition which Booth is Represented
to be would hardly take the time to write
such maudlin stuff as the diary contains;
that a man in his condition and frame of
mind would be busted with other thoughts
than are INDUCED in by the author Of this
diary. However this may be, the current
accounts Of the assassination, the fight,
and capture Of Booth, aud the account now
published, purporting to be Booths diary,
present some discrepancies which are
wholly irreconcilable. For instance, the
diary starts off az follows:
TIE amo. April 1874 Friday. the ides.
Until to-day nothing was ever thought
Of sacrificing to our country's wrongs. For
six months we have worked to capture
but our cause being almost lost, something
decisive and great must be done. Bat its
failure was owing to Others, who did not
strike for their country with heart. l
struck boldly, and not al the papers say.
/ walked with firm step through thou
sand of his friends, and was stopped, but
pushed on. Colonel was at his side.
shouted CSC sempT" before ! fired. In
jumping, | broke my leg. passed all his
iol- d 81 zyfv hot
the bone of my leg tearing the flesh at
every jump.
Now let us see what the contemporane-
Gus accounts Of the affair state. We quote
from dispatch Of the reporter for the as
ISOLATED press, dated April -, 1865, and
his account was corroborated by other dis
patches and letters of the same date:
During the third act, and while there
was temporary pause for one Of the actors
to enter, the sharp report Of a pistol
was heard, which merely attracted at
tention, but suggested nothing serions,
until a man rushed to the front Of the
Presidents box, waving a long dagger
in his right hand, and exclaiming Sic
seapcr fyrdnnisP and Immediately leaped
from the box, which was in the second tier,
to the stage beneath, and ran across
to the opposite side of the stage, making
his escape amid the bewilderment of the
audience, from the rear Of the theatre, and
mounting horse, fed"
In a dispatch to Gen Dix, dated April
Is, 4:10 A. NJ, Secretary Stanton says:
at appears from letters found in Booths
trunk that the murder was planned before
the 4th of March, but fell through then
because the accomplice backed out until
Richmond could be heard from.
1t would seem that they had for several
days been seeking their chances, but for
some unknown reason it was not carried
into effect until last night"
The Washington Star of April q, 1865,
says in its account of the killing of Booth :
"The statement heretofore published that
Booth had injured one of his legs by the
fall of his horse, proved to be correct.
After he was shot it was discovered that
one Of his legs was badly injured, and that
he was compelled to wear an old shoe and
use crutches, which he had with him at
the barn.
In later edition of the same day, the
Star says:
when Booth and Harold reached
CARROTS, some days since, Booth was
walking on crutches A party of four or
five accompanied them. They spoke of
Booth as a wounded Marylander on his
way home, and they wished to leave him
there a short time, and would take him
away bv the Goth. Yesterday Booth
limPed somewhat, and walked on clutches
about the place. He complained of his
ankle"
In an account of the killing of Booth
furnished the reporter for the associated
press and by him telegraphed on the goth
Of April, 1865, this statement is made:
"Col. Conger was then satisfied that
further parley with Booth was vain, and
proceeding TO the other side of the barn,
he pulled out a wisp of hay and lighted it.
Within few moments the blazing hay
lighted up the inside of the barn. Booth
was discovered leaning on a crutch, which
he threw aside, aud with carbine in his
hand came toward the side where the fire
had been kindled, paused, looked at the
fire moment, and then started towards
the door. When about the middle Of the
barn he was shot"
In his statement Of the killing Of Booth,
dated the 2Sth of April, 1865 Boston Cor
bett says:
THE flames appeared to confuse him,
and he made a spring towards the door, as
4 IN tor "a aVrav h r..ll h.
one of the crevices in the barn ! fired at
him
The diary claims that Booth shouted
" SIC semper" before he fired, while the tes-
timony Of the present shows that the report
Of the pistol was heard before Booth made
has appearance at. the front of the Presi-
dents box, waving dagger, and exclaiming
" SIC SsmPer tyranHis." The diary represents
him as having broken his leg in jumping,
and then escaping and riding sixty miles
that night on horseback, with the bone of
has leg tearing the flesh at every jump
How is il possible for a man with broken
leg TO have made his way out of the rear
OF the theatre and mounted his horse with
out attracting the attention of somebody He
could not have mounted the horse himself,
nor Is it probable he could have been assisted
tomounthishorse and not attracted attention,
nor could he, under such circumstances,
have disappeared as soon after the shooting
as it is shown he did. He is represented
to have "ran across to the opposite side Of
the stage" and that, too, after he had &C
cording to the diary, broken his leg Is il
possible that he could have disguised from
the audience and the actors upon the stage
so serious a mishap as the breaking Of
leg? DR.. Mudd was sent to the Dry Tor
tugas for rendering surgical aid TO Booth
perhaps setting the broken bone Of has leg,
yet accounts Of the detectives and Boston
Corbett do not mention that his leg was
broken They say that his leg had been
injured, that he complained of his ankle,
that he had TO wear an old shoe, that he
used Crutches, that he threw away his crutch
when the barn was set on fire, and appears
to have walked about without difficulty
Could a man whose leg had been broken
only two weeks previous have done this?
Mr. Stanton says that letters found in
Booths trunk show "fhat the murder vas