
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 about $20 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 (1)
See all- The Annual British Conquest and Burning of Washington Tour, August 24 D.C.!The Willard Hotel, Washington , DC
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.
August 24, 5:00 pm.
Length of tour: About 2 hours. Prices start at: $22.
Nearest metro stops: Metro Center and the SmithsonianPre-Register and Pre-Pay at—
Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-annual-british-conquest-and-burning-of-washington-tour-august-24-dc-tickets-1419284731839?aff=oddtdtcreator
Or, PayPal, sending $22 to [191.EP.JM.56@proton.me](mailto:191.EP.JM.56@proton.me)
https://www.paypal.com/us/home
Or, pay $22 in cash at the start of the tour.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
• The unsung hero who saved the original Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
• How First Lady Dolley Madison bravely faced the approach of the British.
• 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 an esteemed 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 formidable British commanders that day
• 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=1Ed 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
And his latest, a spy thriller set in Embassy Row, Femme Fatalité:
https://www.amazon.com/Femme-Fatalité-Lizzy-Thorne-Novel/dp/B0F5NPSKDS/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
And The Two-Term Jinx, a presidential history:
https://www.amazon.com/Two-Term-Jinx-Presidents-Washington-Theodore-Roosevelt-ebook/dp/B01K0NT0CK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Think history is boring? Not on this tour!
Meet in the historic lobby of the Willard Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.