mostly country roads drive type BLAISE WILLIG john wilkes booth: chasing lincoln’s assassin Follow the escape route of John Wilkes Booth, one of history’s most notorious assassins, as he fl ed from Washington, D.C., and hid for several days in Southern Maryland before being cornered. 66 miles from washington, d.c. to popes creek t he Civil War was coming to an end and hopes were high that the mending of America could quickly get under way. But on the night of April 14, 1865, thoughts of reconciliation su ered a serious setback. John Wilkes Booth, a Maryland-born actor and Confederate sympathizer, shot President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C. He then fl ed into Maryland and eluded Federal troops for nearly two weeks. Navy Yard Bridge to rendezvous with accomplice David Herold. Follow Booth and Herold to the town of Clinton, where they arrived at a tavern that Mary Surratt operated as a Confederate safe house. Today, the Surratt House Museum tells the tale of her role in the assassination plan and how she became the fi rst woman to be executed by the U.S. government. With fresh supplies, Booth and Herold quickly made their way to Dr. Samuel A. Mudd’s Waldorf home, now a popular museum stop. The country physician, apparently unaware of his patient’s role in Lincoln’s assassination, treated Booth’s broken leg — an act that would land Mudd in prison. Continue south and visit St. Mary’s Church and Cemetery, one of many historic places of worship in Southern Maryland. It is Mudd’s fi nal resting place. Waldorf to Popes Creek INCLUDING US 301 Visit the 21-mile-long, half-mile-wide Zekiah Swamp, a protected state wetland area popular among canoeists and bird watchers. Booth and Herold navigated around this swampy terrain on their way to Rich Hill, the home of Samuel Cox, near the present-day town of Bel Alton. To the west is one of the oldest communities on the East Coast, Port Tobacco. Formerly an Indian settlement, it became a major seaport in the 17th century. Visit a museum inside the Port Tobacco Courthouse to see archaeological fi nds and gather Civil War knowledge, including information about George Atzerodt, a Booth conspirator who was assigned to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson but decided not to follow through. Washington, D.C., to Waldorf INCLUDING MD 5 & MD 205 At Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., Booth snuck into the president’s box, shot Lincoln and then leapt dramatically onto the stage, breaking his leg but managing to escape. While the president’s body was moved across the street to Petersen’s Boarding House, Booth fl ed on horseback over the 40 | maryland scenic byways byways
MD Scenic Byways Digital Guide: Page 40
