What we're about

Our tours take place in Washington, D.C.--Lafayette Square, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, et al.--Alexandria, Virginia, and other historic sites such as Civil War battlefields in Antietam, Maryland. The tours last about 2 hours, and typically cost $15 per person.

Washington, D.C. and nearby towns like Alexandria, Virginia drip with history and political intrigue--from colonial times to the present day. This is a group aimed at those eager to explore the often-violent and scandalous past of the nation's capital and its surroundings--its wars, espionage rings, assassination attempts, mayhem and misbehaviors, as well as more uplifting events--against its backdrop of architectural splendor and breathtaking vistas.

Detailed itineraries!:

Lafayette Square--White House, Andrew Jackson statue, Stephen Decatur House, slave annex, Dolley Madison House, St. John's Church, Frederick Douglass bank, Lafayette statue, Blair-Lee House, Renwick Gallery, Treasury Dept., Eisenhower Executive Office Building...Learn about: The assassination attempt on a President-one block from the White House!…The war-hero congressman who murdered his wife’s lover…The tragic suicide of the wife of America’s most esteemed author…The brutal stabbing of a Secretary of State…The ruthless spy who lost the U.S. Army a major battle…The scandal that caused the entire presidential Cabinet to resign!..And much more! And it all happened in Lafayette Square, across from the White House in Washington, D.C.

This tour starts and ends at the Andrew Jackson statue.

Old Town Alexandria, Virginia--the Torpedo Factory, the John Carlisle mansion, the Stabler-Ledbetter pharmacy museum, Lawrence Washington's House, George Washington's town house, Founder's Park, the City Hall, the John Wise tavern, Gadsby's Museum and restaurant, Christ Church, Robert E. Lee's boyhood home, the Lee-Fendall House, the old cotton mill, the Presbyterian Meeting House.

This tour typically starts at the Torpedo Factory and ends at Christ Church.

Capitol Hill--the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Library of Congress, the 9/11 memorial, the Anne Frank memorial, the Peace Memorial, the President Garfield statue, the Inauguration steps, the Ulysses S. Grant memorial, the Frederick Law Olmstead grotto, the Sullivan Brothers memorial, the hidden cornerstone of the Capitol.

This tour starts at the Supreme Court Building and ends at the Ulysses S. Grant memorial.

What We Do--"Walking history seminars": walking group tours of the most historic venues in Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, and other towns.

Where We Go--We tour historic, atmospheric neighborhoods and sites such as Lafayette Square, the Capitol Building grounds, Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria, the Navy Yard area, and the Antietam Civil War battlefield.

Upcoming events (3)

Secrets Tour of the National Mall & Capitol Building Grounds, Monday June 5!

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial

$20.00

Tour of the National Mall and Capitol Building's Hidden History!

The Capitol Building and National Mall are justly renowned for their stunning architecture and landscaping. Yet its interior and grounds have also held court to 221 years of certain misbehaviors & mayhem--by powerful men, and some unscrupulous women! Making for a great hidden history tour. Of many noble feats as well.

When: Mon, June 5, 5:30 pm.
What: A walking tour of the National Mall area and Capitol grounds that covers two centuries of mischievy, and some accomplishments as well.
Where: MEET at the Dwight Eisenhower memorial, at the corner of 6th St. and Independence Ave., S.W, Washington, D.C.

Price: Starts at $20.
Pre-register and Pre-pay via—
Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/secrets-tour-of-the-national-mall-capitol-building-grounds-washington-dc-tickets-647129209887
Or
Airbnb Experiences:
Walk in the Footsteps of Congress - Airbnb
Or PayPal, sending $20 to:
[masked]

Length. About 2.25 hours.
Experience the thrill, the shock, the inspiration. Of episodes drawing from:
• The secret tale of the American Indian museum.
• Gifted architects of the National Gallery of Art and the Capitol Building
• The violent attack on a Senator by a Congressman
• Eisenhower's tragic pre-war mission
• The Capitol during the Civil War, WW2, war on terror, WW1, Vietnam War
• The Air and Space museum's honored locale
• Arbors of heartache--the Capitol’s commemorative trees
• Bootlegged spirits by the legislators of Prohibition
• Where Washington & Jefferson fired L'Enfant
• How the Botanical Gardens nearly lost the Civil War
• The lost neighborhood of famous pop musicians
• The city & Capitol riots of 1835, 1857, 1919, 1968, 1991, 2020, 2021...
• Military heroes and inspiring statesmen
• The burning down of the Capitol Building
• The scientists who tried to save a beloved Commander in Chief
• The unusual demise of convicted spies
• The duel to the death—with rifles!--between two Congressmen
• The bombings of the Senate chamber
And more!

Your guide is a former writer for the “Tonight Show”, and ex-White House speechwriter, historian and professional tour guide, and author of such books as:
The 'travelog thriller', The Old Town Horror:
THE OLD TOWN HORROR: Murder and Theft in America’s Most Historic Locale - Kindle edition by Moser, Edward P.. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Houses-Unruly-Neighborhood-Lafayette-ebook/dp/B082ZVDCD7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1555118270&sr=1-1-catcorr

The tour will feature stories from our book, on the hidden history of the Capitol Building & Congress!:
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-History-Capital-Tumultuous-Congress/dp/1493055909/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

We’re on TripAdvisor!:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d12791843-Reviews-Lafayette_Square_Tour_of_Scandal_Assassination_Intrigue-Washington_DC_District_of.html
Think history’s boring? Think again!!

Independence Day Tour of Thomas Jefferson’s Wild Life & Times, DC, July 4!

George Mason Memorial

Walking Tour of Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Times, Washington D.C., Tuesday, July 4, 11 am, George Mason Memorial!
Held along the scenic Tidal Basin, the National Mall & the White House’s Lafayette Square, on Independence Day, this tour will examine the accomplishments of, and many crises faced, by Jefferson—D.C.’s first two-term President--during the American Revolution, in Europe, and during eventful stay in the then-new Executive Mansion. And of his friends & rivals Alexander Hamilton, George Mason, James Madison, George Washington, & John Adams, and others, all of whom left a significant mark on the capital, and America, from the first July 4th and thereafter.
Tuesday, July 4, 11 am.
MEET at the GEORGE MASON memorial near the Jefferson Memorial.
$22.
Length: 2 to 2.5 hours.
Nearest metros: Smithsonian & Metro Center.
PRE-REGISTER and Pre-Pay at—
Airbnb Experiences:
https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/412812
Or
Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/independence-day-tour-of-thomas-jeffersons-wild-life-times-dc-july-4-tickets-618312057007
Or PayPal, sending $21 to [masked]:
https://www.paypal.com/us/home
We’ll walk from the Mason & Jefferson Memorials to the White House & Lafayette Square. And discover:
• The mysterious Jefferson Pier
• A traitor’s attempted overthrow of Jefferson’s Lewis & Clark expedition
• The other Jefferson memorials--outside the White House
• Mason’s battle against—the U.S. Constitution
• The Marquis de Lafayette’s amazing & perilous associations with multiple American Presidents
• Inventor of farm, kitchen, and spy apparatus
• The secret language of the Jefferson Memorial
• The undeclared naval war, and declared trade war, that nearly wrecked Jefferson’s second term
• Sally Hemings and Maria Cosway
• Disputes over the Jefferson Memorial
• Rollercoaster relationship with John Adams
• “The room where it happened”
• The “miracle mansion” of TJ’s militia chief
• The scoundrel who betrayed Jefferson, killed Hamilton, and tried setting up his own country—with the head of the U.S. Army!
• Architect-in-Chief: Did TJ secretly design the White House?
• When Jefferson was almost hanged
• How Mason & Jefferson ended the slave trade—from Minnesota to the Mediterranean!
• President Jefferson’s “First Lady”
• Did Jefferson plagiarize Mason?
• How TJ came to write the Declaration of Independence, and its hidden coda
• And more!
We’re highly rated on TripAdvisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d12791843-Reviews-Lafayette_Square_Tour_of_Scandal_Assassination_Intrigue-Washington_DC_District_of.html
Your tour guide is a former speechwriter to the President of the United States, a former writer for Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show”, & author of the newly published, The Old Town Horror, set in historic Alexandria, Virginia--
https://www.amazon.com/OLD-TOWN-HORROR-Americas-Historic-ebook/dp/B0BX27RWYG
Also the hidden history of Lafayette Square—The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood!:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Houses-Unruly-Neighborhood-Lafayette-ebook/dp/B082ZVDCD7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
And:
https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-America-Things-American-Should-ebook/dp/B076MR3XS3/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
And, The Lost History of the Capitol--
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-History-Capitol-Tumultuous-Congress-ebook/dp/B099JBSN9Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Questions?: [masked]
Bring your walking shoes, and perhaps water and sunscreen.
The tour will end well before the Independence Day fireworks and bbqs.
Think history is boring? Not on our tours!

The Annual British Conquest and Burning of Washington Tour Aug 24 DC

InterContinental the Willard Washington D.C., an IHG Hotel

“The Annual British Conquest and Burning of Washington Tour Aug 24 DC”
Special 209th Anniversary Event!
Thursday, August 24, 5:30 pm.

August 24, 1814 may have been the worst day in the history of Washington, D.C., and perhaps of America. When much of the nation’s Capital was burned to the ground by a rampaging British Army, during the darkest period of the War of 1812!
This unique walking tour will detail the conquest of the D.C by the British, and their burning of the Capitol, the Treasury Building, War & Navy Departments, and the White House, military actions in Alexandria and Baltimore, and the general course of “America’s Second War of Independence”.

Meet in the historic lobby of the Willard Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, August 24, 5:30 pm.
Length of tour: 2 hours. Price: $22.
Pre-Register and Pre-Pay at—
Airbnb Experiences:
https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1206796
Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-annual-british-conquest-and-burning-of-washington-tour-aug-24-dc-tickets-559200703357
PayPal, sending 22 dollars to savvyveteran at gmail dot com
https://www.paypal.com/us/home
Nearest metro stop: Metro Center. Parking in garages north of the Willard and the White House.

Some of our action-packed itinerary!:
• The burning of the Capitol, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress.
• The dramatic events at the Marine Barracks and Navy Yard.
• The wild Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland
• How First Lady Dolley Madison bravely faced the approach of the British.
• The unsung hero who saved the original Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
• The brave doctor who treated the wounded, and gave up his house to the British!
• President Madison, the only Chief Executive to lead America's troops in battle.
• The cowardly Secretary of War, and how a diplomat took over the War Department!
• How the ruse of an Irish washerwoman gulled an English admiral
• The dilemma the war posed slaves: how African-Americans fought in the conflict.
• How the war nearly triggered the secession—of the North!
• The amazingly motley army behind Andy Jackson's stunning victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
• The Washington Typhoon!
• The original war hawks, and doves.
• How volcanoes in Iceland affected the course of the conflict!
• The 1812 Navy hero of Lafayette Square, killed by a fellow Commodore!
• How a Renaissance Man saved the invaluable inventions at the Patent Office.
• The mysterious Curse of the Washington Woman
• Looting along Pennsylvania Avenue, and in the White House!
• The only nation to beat the U.S. in war--twice
• The epic, follow-up Battle of Baltimore
• And more!

Your guide is a former writer for the “Tonight Show”, and ex-White House speechwriter, and author of a book, The Lost Capitol, on the history of the Capitol Building, including a chapter on its burning in 1814:
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-History-Capital-Tumultuous-Congress/dp/1493055909/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&asin=1493055909&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
Ed is also author of the book The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood, on the wild past of the area we’ll walk through:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Houses-Unruly-Neighborhood-Lafayette/dp/1476674868/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1555118270&sr=1-1-catcorr

Think history is boring? Not on this tour!

Past events (229)