The Tale of George Atzerodt

[L Verge]

Lindsey Horn gave a tour of Surratt House yesterday to a family from California whose ten-year-old son had read Chasing Mr. Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson (the children's version of Manhunt). It is standard text, not comic book form; but it had made such an impression on this child - one of four in the family - that they decided to come East for their vacation in order to see Lincoln-related sites.

Lindsey had a blast with this young man! He was one step ahead of her all the way (and Lindsey's history is fantastic!), asked excellent questions, and is well on his way to becoming a scholar in the field. It brought back memories of the 19-year-old Michael Kauffman when I first met him and wondered how much that young squirt knew about the Lincoln assassination -- and then I found out!

This isn't the first time that we have had history prodigies visit Surratt House, and I hope we will see many more. We have to turn our future generations' minds away from Grand Theft Auto to historical topics that can help guide them as future citizens - not future criminals. Yes, Booth committed a crime - but what's important is what caused that crime, could it have been prevented, and how to recover and move on for the good of the country.