Now that the news of what Booth had done was circulating throughout the country, travelling during the daytime was too dangerous. This was especially the case in Maryland, which had not seceded from the Union. Once they crossed the Potomac into Virginia, they would be in Confederate territory. There, they thought that they would be able to depend on vetted contacts and sympathetic strangers for help. This new plan would depend on Jones to figure out the moment when it would be safe for them to seize the opportunity to try to move deeper into the South.