 Meanwhile , as mourners were viewing Lincoln 's remains when the funeral train steamed into Harrisburg at 8 : 20 p.m. , Booth and Herold were provided with a boat and compass by Jones , to cross the Potomac at night on April 21 . Instead of reaching Virginia , however , they mistakenly navigated upriver to a bend in the broad Potomac River , coming ashore again in Maryland on April 22 . The 23 @-@ year @-@ old Herold knew the area well , having frequently hunted there , and recognized a nearby farm as belonging to a Confederate sympathizer . The farmer led them to his son @-@ in @-@ law , Col. John J. Hughes , who provided the fugitives with food and a hideout until nightfall , for a second attempt to row across the river to Virginia . Booth wrote in his diary , " With every man 's hand against me , I am here in despair . And why ; For doing what Brutus was honored for ... And yet I for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew am looked upon as a common cutthroat . " The pair finally reached the Virginia shore near Machodoc Creek before dawn on April 23 . There , they made contact with Thomas Harbin , whom Booth had previously brought into his erstwhile kidnapping plot . Harbin took Booth and Herold to another Confederate agent in the area , William Bryant , who supplied them with horses . 
