After leaving Dr. Samuel A. Mudd's house on April 15, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, and his accomplice David E. Herold avoided Zekiah Swamp and made a wide arc around the village of Bryanstown. Unsure of their surroundings, they enlisted the aid of a guide, Oswell Swann, who led them across the swamp to Rich Hill, the home of Samuel Cox, where they arrived shortly after midnight on April 16. According to Swann, Cox admitted them to the house for three or four hours, though Cox later denied that they entered and a young servant girl supported his testimony. Cox did arrange to conceal them in a nearby pine thicket for several days, where they received food, newspapers, and information.