THE ORIGINAL JOHN WILKES BOOTH
ESCAPE ROUTE TOUR

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 which deal with the assassin and his escape 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), or mail (9118 Brandywine Road, 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.

NOTICE: Due to the very large number of requests for information about the 2012 Spring John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tours, effective January 19, 2012, the museum will no longer accept inquiries about or requests to be placed on the 2012 Spring Escape Route mailing list. All future requests will be for the 2012 Fall Escape Route Tours list.

NOTE:   NO reservations for the Spring tours will be accepted before mid-January, after the January mass mailing has been sent out.
              NO reservations for the Fall tours will be accepted before mid-June, after the June mass mailing has been sent out.

The cost of the twelve-hour tour is $75 per person ($70 for members of the Surratt Society). Proceeds benefit the preservation of Surratt House Museum which was the first stop on Booth’s flight south.