THE ORIGINAL JOHN WILKES BOOTH
ESCAPE ROUTE TOUR

Spring Tour Dates:
April 12, 2008 April 19, 2008 April 26, 2008 May 3, 2008

Fall Tour Dates:
September 6, 2008 September 13, 2008 September 20, 2008

On the night of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by the dashing young actor, John Wilkes Booth, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington City. While Lincoln lay dying, his assassin was making his escape into Southern Maryland. Over the next twelve days, Booth and his accomplice, David Herold, were tracked through the lower counties of Maryland and across the Potomac River into Viriginia. They were finally trapped at Garrett’s Farm near Bowling Green, Virginia, where Herold was taken prisonsor and Booth was shot and killed by federal troops. Herold was hanged along with Mary Surratt on July 7, 1865.

The Surratt Society sponsors bus tours each fall and spring along Booth’s escape route. Many of the same roads and houses used by Booth are still in existence and are visited on this twelve-hour excursion which is narrated by nationally-recognized authorities on the Lincoln assassination and John Wilkes Booth’s flight. An article, “Tracking an Assassin” by Sarah Mark, which appeared in the Washington Post on April 14, 1995, provides a comprehensive description of the various stops on the escape route tour. Also see Kieran McAuliffe’s John Wilkes Booth Escape Route History Map which provides a wealth of information about Booth's escape and the extraordinary hunt to capture him. Two excellent books have been published recently which deal with the assassin and his escape. These books are Michael Kauffman’s American Brutus and James L. Swanson’s Manhunt. The books and map are available from the Surratt House Gift Shop.

Persons interested in going on the next available tours must contact Surratt House Museum by phone (301-868-1121 [voice & TTY]), fax (301-868-8177), or mail (PO Box 427, Clinton, MD 20735) and ask to be placed on an advanced notice mailing list. In mid-January, we mail to all those interested in the spring tours. In mid-June we mail to all interested in the fall tours. Reservations are only accepted on a first-come basis as checks or money orders are received after this mass mailing. We do not take phone reservations, e-mail reservations, or credit cards. Please be advised that this is a very popular tour, and it is not unusual to have 200-300 names on the waiting list. We mail out the advanced notice in sequence – west of the Mississippi first, then east of the Mississippi, then the Washington-Baltimore region last – in order to assure some fairness with the U.S. Postal Service.

An information request form

is provided for your convenience.

Names for the advanced notice mailing list for the next available tours are accepted throughout the year.

NOTE: NO reservations for the Spring tours will be accepted before mid-January.
NO reservations for the Fall tours will be accepted before mid-June.

The cost of the twelve-hour tour is $65 per person ($60 for members of the Surratt Society). Proceeds benefit the preservation of Surratt House Museum which was the first stop on Booth’s flight south.

***** >>>>> Due to the renovations at Ford’s Theatre, entry into the theater is not possible until it reopens in the Spring of 2009 and the artifacts usually displayed there are in storage. We will only be able to view Ford's Theatre from the outside. However, all the history about what happened here will be delivered on the bus. The Petersen House where Lincoln died is open for visiting. <<<<< *****

THE ORIGINAL JOHN WILKES BOOTHESCAPE ROUTE TOUR

Spring Tour Dates:

Fall Tour Dates:

THE ORIGINAL JOHN WILKES BOOTH
ESCAPE ROUTE TOUR