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Nearly 150 years later, the events of April 15, 1865, still remain among the most tragic in American history. Follow the story at the sites at which it unfolded as Anthony S. Pitch leads a history walk based on his book They Have Killed Papa Dead! The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Beginning at the White House, where Lincoln gave his last speech, the walk moves to the Lafayette Square homes of the army major who struggled with John Wilkes Booth in the presidential box and Secretary of State William H. Seward, who was stabbed by a co-conspirator. The New York Presbyterian Church, whose original structure was where the Lincoln family worshipped, is another stop.
The route continues to Ford's Theatre and the boarding house across the street where the president died, then to "the nest where the egg was hatched,” Mary Surratt’s boarding house in today’s Chinatown where conspirators plotted the crime. Other sites include locations where Lincoln stayed as president-elect, where his son watched a theater performance on the night of the murder, and where Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn in as the new chief executive.
This tour is 2 hours long and meets at the Andrew Jackson equestrian statue in Lafayette Square, 16th St. and H St., N.W.
Other Connections
This tour is sold out, but the chance to walk through history with Ed Bearss is still possible with this “The Seven Days Battle Tour.” Follow along as Bearss and Gregg Clemmer lead you through the second phase of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s 1862 advance up the Virginia Peninsula. Stops will be made along the way at Gaines’ Mill, Glendale battlefield, and Mavern Hill.
Join us as we travel from the great cathedral city of Reims to Paris to explore some of the most important sites of the Great War.
Visit the Smithsonian Journeys page to see more
European trips.
