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Introducing LincolnAssassinationTours.com

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Dave Taylor

In 2009, between my junior and senior years of college, I took a trip with my dad to Washington, D.C. Having been born and raised in Illinois, I had never been to the nation’s capital before. As good Midwesterners, we had taken family trips to places like the Mall of America in Minnesota, Mackinac Island in Michigan, and even to parts of Canada to see Niagara Falls. However, our family vacations never extended to the East Coast (except for Disney World in Florida).

Thus, it was exciting when Dad and I flew to D.C. in May of 2009, just after college let out for the summer. As the youngest of my siblings and the only one still living at home, this was a nice, intimate trip for two (my mother opted out of this particular excursion). We visited all the iconic locations in and around the nation’s capital, including the Smithsonian museums, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Ford’s Theatre, Arlington National Cemetery, the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress, and more. We had the typical D.C. tourist experience and enjoyed it all.

But, in addition to seeing the “normal” D.C. sites, my dad and I also went off the beaten path a bit. This was primarily because, since around my freshman year of high school, I had become increasingly interested in the subject of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. I had devoured many books on the subject as I quickly became fascinated with this event in our history. While reading the books was gratifying, I felt drawn to visit and see some of the places mentioned in the books firsthand.

Although it cost us a bit more to rent a car, my patient father indulged my obsession, and near the end of the trip, we headed south out of Washington. Dad drove while I tried my best to be the navigator, armed with printed MapQuest directions. We visited and toured the Surratt House Museum in Clinton and the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum in Waldorf. We then went to the cemeteries containing the graves of Edman Spangler and Dr. Mudd. Then we hit the long haul down to the site of the Garrett farm, where John Wilkes Booth died. The median strip where the Garrett house once stood was still open to the public in those days, so Dad and I parked on the side of the highway and trekked in. When we got to the small clearing that marked the area where the assassin died on the Garrett porch, Dad took this photograph of me.

While we had witnessed and toured many iconic sites during our visit to D.C., my favorite part of the whole trip was standing in that nondescript wooded median strip in Virginia. Millions flock to D.C. each year to experience the majesty of the memorials, but how many people would ever stand where Dad and I stood, knowing the history that occurred at this otherwise forgotten patch of land? Reading about a historical event is one thing, but nothing can replace the power of visiting a historical site firsthand, especially one that is off the beaten path.

Fast forward to 2015. I’m living and teaching in Maryland, while devoting my free time to my interest in this history. Just before the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, I became the newest guide for the John Wilkes Booth escape route bus tours organized by the Surratt Society. This was after a year of training and taking the tour with the two other bus tour guides at the time, the late John Howard and Bob Allen. Becoming a narrator for the bus tour was incredibly exciting for me. I had moved to Maryland to be closer to where it all happened and to experience even more off-the-beaten-path history. As an educator who adores public history, guiding folks along the route used by the assassin became my favorite activity. People loved taking my tours, and I loved giving them. I loved discussing the history with other interested folks and seeing them marvel, as I once did, at being transported to the actual sites they had previously only read about. It truly was the perfect role for me, and I always looked forward to my turn to narrate the next tour. From 2015 to 2019, I narrated 20 bus tours for the Surratt Society (along with several other small group tours). After completing my last tour in September 2019, I couldn’t wait for the next season in April 2020.

With historian and author Ed Steers, who took my tour in April 2019.

We all know what happened right before that next season of tours was slated to start. The COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down, and it was clear that it would be a long time before any bus tours would start up again. Progress was made with the COVID vaccine, and in time, life returned to normal for many. However, even as other tour companies resumed their efforts, the Surratt Society’s bus tours never returned after this shutdown. The reasons for this are as complex as the tour itself, and it has not been due to a lack of desire on the part of the Society. In the end, however, the organization has just been unable to restart the tours, despite its best efforts.

However, that drive in me to help people experience this monumental event in our history firsthand has not diminished. I know there is still a demand to explore this history beyond the pages of a book or website. That is why I am announcing the start of a new, personal venture. I am launching Lincoln Assassination Tours, a tour business designed around educating a new generation about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by taking them down the escape route of John Wilkes Booth.

Lincoln Assassination Tours offers an approximately 10-and-a-half-hour chartered bus tour in which participants join the manhunt for Lincoln’s assassin. On a scenic, 170+ mile round-trip journey, guests will learn about the plot against Lincoln and his cabinet members by retracing the assassin’s escape route firsthand. The tour includes entry and visits to three museums (including the soon-to-be-opened museum of Rich Hill) and two private properties. All participants will also receive their choice from 40 catered box lunch options, included in the ticket price.

Whether you are like me in 2009, yearning to visit the sites associated with his history for the first time, or a seasoned veteran of escape route tours, I hope you will check out Lincoln Assassination Tours to learn more about us and our tour. At Lincoln Assassination Tours, we adhere to the same historical standards established by the Surratt Society over its decades of tours, while offering an updated and brand-new experience for everyone. Although this tour is not affiliated with the Surratt Society, I feel fortunate to have their blessing and support in this new venture. I wouldn’t be the historian I am today if they didn’t take a chance on me as their guide back in 2015.

Lincoln Assassination Tours is currently booking for our inaugural escape route tour on Saturday, March 14, 2026. This debut tour will be followed by two more tours, being offered on Saturday, April 18, 2026, and Sunday, April 19, 2026.  To celebrate the launch of this new endeavor, we are offering a special $20 discount on our March tour date.

For those who won’t be able to make our first set of tours in the spring of 2026, fear not. We are planning future tours for the fall of 2026 (and possibly more before then). The best way to stay up to date on new tours is to sign up for our email list. Near the bottom of the Lincoln Assassination Tours homepage is a box labeled “Join Our Email List.” By entering your email address in that box and clicking submit, you will receive an email every time we post a new update to the site. You can also keep up to date with us on social media. Lincoln Assassination Tours is on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

I’m very excited to start this new venture, helping folks experience the history behind Abraham Lincoln’s assassination firsthand. Our initial focus for the time being will be the John Wilkes Booth escape route tours, but I have several ideas and plans for other tours as well. Sometime in the near future, we hope to offer walking tours, cemetery tours, and even some unique, one-off chartered tours.

I invite you all to take a look at the Lincoln Assassination Tours homepage, About page, and Frequently Asked Questions. When the time is right, I hope you’ll Register for a tour with us. I can’t wait to see you following in the manhunt for Lincoln’s assassin.

– Dave Taylor

Categories: History, Lincoln Assassination Tours, News | Tags: , , , , | 7 Comments

Midnight on the Potomac by Scott Ellsworth

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Dave Taylor

In July of 2025, bestselling author Scott Ellsworth published his newest book, Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, The Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America. After devouring Dr. Ellsworth’s incredibly well-written and engaging book, I reached out to him seeing if he would be willing to sit down for a virtual interview about his work. Below you will find our talk where we discuss the end of the Civil War, the character of John Wilkes Booth, and the Confederate Secret Service.

I’m so grateful to Dr. Ellsworth for chatting with me and I hope you will all pick up your own copies of Midnight on the Potomac wherever you get your books. While Scott didn’t quite make a believer out of me when it comes to the Confederacy’s role in Lincoln’s death, his book provides many intriguing points to ponder. On top of all that, the book gives an engaging accounting of the final months of the Civil War that is impossible to put down.

Categories: History, News | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

The Ides of April Podcast

Posted on July 30, 2025 by Dave Taylor

In the world of podcasts, there are many episodes and series about the Lincoln assassination. I’ve been a guest on a few podcasts talking about this history. My favorite has been the series of Vanished episodes that dealt with the Booth escaped justice theory. Admittedly, part of what makes it my favorite is that it is how I met my wife, Jen, who is one of the podcast’s co-hosts. But we also spent a lot of time diving into the history of the Finis Bates story and ripping it to pieces, which was cathartic in the same way reading Frank Gorman’s recent book is. I’ve also enjoyed speaking with the duo of Mary and Darin on The Civil War Breakfast Club podcast about all things Lincoln assassination.

While these are examples of good podcasts that work hard to present accurate history, not all podcasts are created equal. The format is open to anyone with a microphone and the ability to upload their audio file to the internet. Because of this, there is a wide range of quality in podcasts that suit different tastes and levels of knowledge. Not too long ago, a somewhat “known” podcast did a series on the Lincoln assassination that received a lot of exposure. Though I don’t listen to many podcasts myself, I decided to give it a listen. After 10 minutes, I had to turn it off. It was the format of one guy essentially reading Wikipedia about the Lincoln assassination and his “bros” cracking jokes about it in a crass manner. Definitely not a style for me.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I saw this announcement from Variety that actor Alec Baldwin would soon be hosting an eight-part podcast series about the Lincoln assassination and the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. As of this post’s publication, three episodes of the series have been released. It’s called The Ides of April, and while the majority of the narration is done by Baldwin, the show does feature audio clips from historians Harold Holzer, Walter Stahr, and Terry Alford. It was hearing and recognizing Dr. Alford’s voice in the trailer for the podcast that got me interested. As the author of the biography, Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth, and a member of the group that defended Green Mount Cemetery in 1995 from conspiracy theorists who wanted to exhume Booth’s body, I’m always interested in what Dr. Alford has to say about Booth and the assassination.

The Ides of April isn’t a perfect podcast. The graphics used for the title and episode cards have that soulless look that all AI-generated art does. The text that Baldwin reads can be a bit repetitive at times and isn’t always historically accurate. The podcast highlights many of the same questionable conclusions that many online sources do, such as Edwin and John Wilkes being bitter rivals. The episode titles, while evocative, are never explained or referenced. With that being said, Alec Baldwin, as a narrator, has a compelling voice that keeps you engaged, and the clips from the historians really help round out the rough spots in the text.

All in all, I’ve been casually enjoying the podcast so far. I don’t think it will break any new ground, but it’s a good-sounding, condensed account of the story we all know, featuring some impressive historians in the Lincoln field like Dr. Alford. If you want something to listen to while driving or doing chores around the house, you might enjoy the show as well. Perhaps you’ll be like me and play the game of “that’s not quite right” as you listen.

The Ides of April can be found wherever you listen to podcasts. They also have a YouTube channel where you can listen to the episodes. Here’s the link to the YouTube playlist of episodes. Remember that the series is still ongoing, with new episodes dropping on Wednesdays until the last one is scheduled to be released on September 3, 2025.

Categories: History, News | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

John Wilkes Booth Exhumation Trial 30th Anniversary Panel

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Dave Taylor

On May 17, 1995, a historic trial began in the Circuit Court of Baltimore City. The case revolved around a legal petition to exhume the remains of John Wilkes Booth from Green Mount Cemetery. The petition was the culmination of years of effort on the part of two historical researchers who believed that the assassin of Lincoln was not killed at the Garrett farm on April 26, 1865, but instead escaped justice and lived for many years under assumed identities. The main support for this theory was a 1907 book called The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth, written by a man named Finis Bates who claimed to have met an incognito Booth in Texas in the 1870s. Despite the numerous factual and logical errors in the book, many people wanted to believe the tall tale, and the story of Booth’s escape from justice became folklore akin to sightings of the deceased Elvis Presley. In 1991, this fringe theory rose in prominence when it was featured on the TV series Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack. The increase in exposure motivated the two leading proponents of the theory to seek legal recourse to prove their claims. Green Mount Cemetery opposed the exhumation, both on the merits of the conspiracy theory and also due to the researchers having no connection to the deceased.

The attorney for the researchers then found two distant Booth relatives and convinced them to become involved. The names of the researchers were swapped with those of the distant Booth relatives, and the petition to exhume was refiled. Green Mount Cemetery still opposed the exhumation request, and so a trial was set to evaluate the merits of the petitioners’ case.

The trial consisted of four days of testimony, with 16 witnesses taking the stand. The trial was overseen by Judge Joseph Kaplan and occurred in Courthouse East on Calvert and Fayette Streets in Baltimore. Green Mount Cemetery was represented by attorney Francis J. Gorman from the newly formed law firm of Gorman and Williams. Frank assembled a group of Lincoln assassination historians and an expert on exhumations to discuss the validity of the petitioners’ factual and scientific arguments. The petitioners were represented by attorney Mark Zaid.

At the end of 2024, Frank Gorman published a book entitled Confronting Bad History: How a Lost Cause and Fraudulent Booth Caused the John Wilkes Booth Exhumation Trial. In this book, Frank not only expertly documents the exhumation trial and its proceedings in an engaging way, but he also provides some vital context regarding the character of Finis Bates and his book. After sharing in some conversations with Frank about his wonderful new book, I volunteered the idea of trying to put together a reunion panel of sorts to mark the 30th anniversary of the exhumation trial in 2025. Through calls and emails, Frank was able to convince four witnesses from the 1995 trial to take part in the reunion. Though I had no involvement in the original case, I was honored to be asked by Frank to moderate the discussion. Due to the geographical distances between the different participants, we decided to conduct this reunion virtually over Zoom.

The participants of this reunion panel were:

In the end, the panel lasted a little over three hours as we delved into several aspects of the trial and the research behind it. For the ease of viewing, I have divided it into three segments, which you can watch below.

I hope that you enjoy watching this reunion panel as much as I enjoyed moderating it. By watching these videos and reading Frank Gorman’s book, you are helping to confront bad history.

Categories: History, News | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Grant Hall Open House 5/3/25

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Dave Taylor

This Saturday, May 3, 2025, will be the quarterly open house of Grant Hall.

Grant Hall is the restored courtroom of the Lincoln conspirators located on Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. The open houses are a chance to see the room in which the conspirators were tried, check out special exhibits on the subject of Lincoln’s death, and interact with docents who can teach you about the trial of the century. When I lived in the area, I used to volunteer at the open houses, and my good friend Bob Bowser still makes appearances there as Dr. Mudd. Dr. Paul Severance, a speaker at this year’s virtual Surratt Society conference, is also a regular docent, dressed as General Winfield Scott Hancock.

As an active military base, the courtroom is only accessible to the public four times a year, so you definitely want to take advantage of this opportunity if you can. Information on how to register for the open house (which you must do to gain access to the base) can be found here.

For those of you, like me, who live far away from Grant Hall and can’t make the open house, you might enjoy a series of speeches given on the subject of the trial and courtroom that were given on the 150th anniversary of the trial back in 2015. Here are links to the talks given by Michael Kauffman, John Elliott, Barry Cauchon, and Betty Ownsbey.

If you want to stay up to date on different events like this, talks, anniversaries, auction items, and news revolving around the Lincoln assassination, please consider becoming a member of my Patreon. For just $3 a month, you will receive a weekly post about all of this and more! At the $7 per month level, you also get access to fortnightly posts highlighting unique Lincoln assassination objects hidden away in museum vaults and private collections. And at the $15 a month level, you get all of these benefits plus monthly videos delving into different aspects of the story and answering your questions. Any support you can give to help keep the lights on here at LincolnConspirators.com and support me as I work on writing my book bringing Black voices back into the Lincoln assassination story would be greatly appreciated. There’s already a good deal of content available at the LincolnConspirators Patreon that I hope you’ll check out.

Categories: History, News | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Help Get Rich Hill Over the Finish Line

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Dave Taylor

Rich Hill is a historic home located in Bel Alton, Charles County, Maryland. Built in 1729, the house has some amazing Revolutionary War connections. It was the birthplace of Dr. Gustavus Brown, a doctor of George Washington’s who tended to the Father of Our Country on his deathbed. It was also the birthplace of Margaret Brown, the wife of Declaration of Independence signer Thomas Stone. During the Civil War era, the home was owned by Samuel Cox. After having his broken leg tended to by Dr. Mudd, John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David Herold made their way to Rich Hill, looking for assistance from Cox during their escape. According to Oswell Swan, the Black man who, unaware of their identity, guided the assassins to Rich Hill, Booth and Herold spent a few hours inside Rich Hill before they were hidden in a nearby pine thicket by Cox’s farm overseer.

Rich Hill is the second oldest standing house in Charles County. Up until a few years ago, however, things were looking bleak for this truly exceptional property. Years of neglect had left the home in a sad state of affairs. I remember visiting the house in 2011 when there was no front door and the insides had been trashed by vandals. It truly looked like this house was destined to collapse, much like the Garrett home where Lincoln’s assassin eventually died.

Rich Hill as it appeared in 2011

However, in 2014, an effort was undertaken by the Historical Society of Charles County and the Charles County Government to save this unique piece of history. The county government acquired the property from the owner, and the process was started to stabilize and restore the home. It has been a long process, but through private donations, grants, and a state of Maryland bond of $600,000, the home has been successfully stabilized, a new roof has been added, and the exterior of the home is now completely restored.

Rich Hill in 2025

The only work that remains is to finish the interior of the building. Unfortunately, the state bond funds have been exhausted. While the county government has also been a great partner over the years, it is also unable to provide additional funding for the interior of the house. They will, however, continue to own the site and take care of its maintenance, landscaping, and utilities. Earlier this year, the Charles County Government signed an updated memorandum of understanding with the Historical Society of Charles County, effectively placing the historical society in charge of financing and completing the work.

Recent actions at the federal level have significantly decreased the amount of funds available for historic preservation grants. The Historical Society of Charles County is attempting to raise $150,000 in order to get Rich Hill over the finish line. This final push will pay for the electrical, insulation, HVAC, drywall, painting, and other finishing touches for the interior of Rich Hill.

Once the interior is done, the house will finally be ready to open as a new museum. The Friends of Rich Hill committee group has been hard at work over the past decade, acquiring furnishings, artwork, portraits, and exhibits to tell the story of this historic house and the men and women who lived here. Already, the site is conducting outreach with interpretive signs that discuss the history of the house, the lives of enslaved men and women who lived here, and Charles County’s role in Revolutionary and Civil War history. After a decade of hard work, the end is finally in sight, and Rich Hill is so close to opening its doors as a museum.

If you can, please consider donating to the Historical Society of Charles County to help support their efforts to finish the restoration of Rich Hill. The historical society is a 501c3 non-profit, and all donations are tax-deductible.

You can make an online donation to the Historical Society via PayPal by clicking here or on the image below.

You can also mail a donation to the following address:

The Historical Society of Charles County
PO Box 2806
La Plata, Maryland 20646

As an original member of the Friends of Rich Hill Steering Committee, I hope you’ll consider giving whatever you can to help turn Rich Hill into a museum. Even a few bucks will help. I will be donating all the proceeds from my Patreon for this month (April 2025) to Rich Hill as my way of paying it forward.

With just one more push, we can help bring a new museum to the John Wilkes Booth escape route. And while other museums like the Surratt Tavern and the Dr. Mudd house really only have the Lincoln assassination story going for them, Rich Hill also has some really cool Revolutionary War history that deserves to be told. Thanks for donating.

Categories: History, News | Tags: , | 1 Comment

An Interview with the Creators of The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Dave Taylor

On the 160th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, I sat down with Ryan Heilman and Wes Crawford from Wharf Rat Games. These two are the designers and creators of the new board game, The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth, published by Blue Panther LLC. We had an excellent discussion about the history behind this Lincoln assassination-themed game, the process of designing and developing board games, and how board games can be a form of public history. Check out the video of our talk below:

To read my earlier review of The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth, click here. To purchase your own copy of this unique board game, you can order it from the publisher, Blue Panther LLC, by clicking the image below.

Categories: History, News | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Surratt Society’s Virtual Conference 4/5/2025

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Dave Taylor

Today, the Surratt Society released details about its upcoming annual conference, which is taking place this Saturday, April 5, 2025. The conference will run from 2:00 to 4:30 pm Eastern time.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Surratt Conferences were held in person in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with a slate of about six or so speakers and a dinner speaker. During and since the pandemic, however, the conference has operated in a virtual setting with two speakers over the course of an afternoon. These virtual conferences have been completely free to attend for anyone with a Zoom-compatible device. In prior years, you had to pre-register for the conference in order to be sent the Zoom link. This year, however, no pre-registration is necessary. I have copied over the link and Zoom instructions provided by the Society at the end of this post.

This year’s speakers are Dr. Paul Severance and Francis Gorman.

A professor of military science at the National Defense University, Dr. Paul Severance will speak about the 1865 trial of the Lincoln conspirators. For many years, Dr. Severance has been a devoted educator, giving tours of the restored courtroom of the conspirators at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington. I worked with Dr. Severance many times when I lived in the area and gave tours with him in the courtroom. I am looking forward to hearing his presentation on the trial.

A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Law Center, Francis “Frank” J. Gorman, practiced law as a trial and intellectual property attorney. A founder of the Gorman & Williams law firm, Frank was selected to represent Green Mount Cemetery in opposition to the efforts to exhume the body of John Wilkes Booth in 1995. With a team of history experts, including Michael Kauffman, Dr. Terry Alford, Steven Miller, Dr. James O. Hall, and Dr. William Hanchett, Frank successfully disproved the John Wilkes Booth escaped conspiracy theories in a court of law, and prevented the needless exhumation. Thirty years after that court case, Frank has written a book about his experiences and new discoveries that have further disproved the Finis Bates-backed conspiracy theories. At the conference, Frank will talk about his new book, Confronting Bad History: How a Lost Cause and Fraudulent Book Caused the John Wilkes Booth Exhumation Trial. I had the chance to read Frank’s manuscript before it was published, and I could not put it down. Be prepared for Frank to make an appearance here on LincolnConspirators.com in the near future to talk more about it.

Here is the Zoom meeting information provided on the Surratt Society’s Events page:

“The link is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81547245578?pwd=oiHBmbayEaQEmwbit7cPYVfe4DzAZr.1

Meeting ID:  815 4724 5578

Passcode:  416937″

I am very excited about this lineup of speakers. I hope to (virtually) see you all on Saturday, April 5, from 2:00 – 4:30 pm!

Categories: History, News | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

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