Surratt Conference Update

[L Verge]

I am happy to confirm that our selected speakers for the 15th Annual Surratt Conference on the Lincoln Assassination have all agreed to participate! Mark your calendars now for the weekend of March 14-16, 2014, and plan to attend.

The theme of the conference is LINCOLN'S ASSASSINATION: COLLATERAL DAMAGE and will focus on the effects that the event had on individuals who were touched by it. I am happy to say that most of the speakers are members of this forum.

Rich Smyth and Jim Garrett will share the podium for a presentation on the tremendous amount of work that they have done in tracking down people, places, and things related to the assassination.

John Elliott and Barry Cauchon will catch us up on all of the work they have been doing on the conspirators and what went on at the penitentiary.

Caleb Stephens will be focusing on his extensive research into the sad story of Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris.

Kim Bauer will presenting on behalf of Mary Lincoln, and Jason Emerson will share his take on Robert Lincoln.

Hopefully, other members of this forum will be participating in the Authors' Hour.

I have not yet enticed the banquet speaker that I want into agreeing to make a long trek. However, it is a multi-media presentation on history, letters, and music that reflect the toll on all caught up in the American Civil War. Keep your fingers crossed...

For those of you who want to arrive early and leave late, we will be offering a bus tour into D.C. on Friday to view the trial room, Clara Barton's downtown (post war) office, and the Mathew Brady exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. And yes, we'll feed you lunch, but we're still dickering for good prices.

On Sunday, we are venturing into Mosby country with an expert guide. Try not to wear a Union kepi on this trip...

A full conference packet will be mailed to all 1500 Surratt Society members during the first week in November. Non-members are certainly welcome, so just yell at me via laurie.verge@pgparks.com to be placed on the conference mailing list.

[Gene C]

Will a Booth Escape Tour be available?

[L Verge]

Sorry, but no. We did offer that last year, but we try for something different each year. I can tell you that we have chosen the dates for 2014 BERTs: April 12, 19, 26, and May 3. Fall tours will be on every Saturday in September.

If you are the least bit interested in going on any of the 2014 tours, I would advise that you contact Surratt House and ask to be placed on the advanced notice mailing list. We book the spring tours in mid-January and the fall tours in mid-June, and you don't stand a snowball's chance of getting on one unless you receive advanced notice -- and that is only done via those lists.

[Matt Macoubrie]

Laurie, I think that this will work perfectly . . . though most likely I will employed (keeping fingers crossed) I would love to come out again, us Midwestern folks don't get out much often . . . and according to the stereotype, there are too many tractors and too much corn. Never understood that stereotype, but I need a change of scenery after student teaching. Hopefully I can bring my fiancee with me as well!!!!!!

[L Verge]

Oh, start planning now and beg any new boss for a long weekend in March... A fiancee, huh? You've been a busy boy since we saw you this past March. Congratulations!

[BettyO]

Got my info pack in the mail yesterday regarding this year's Conference -

Looks really great again this year - can't wait!

[L Verge]

Just a note to say that the registrations for the Surratt conference on March 14-16 continue to flow in, and our numbers will soon go over the 100 mark. The Friday bus tour to D.C. sites filled last week, and we have about ten people on a waiting list. The Sunday bus tour to Mosby Country has about ten seats available.

A reminder that the special room rate at Colony South Hotel is good only until Feb. 15. And, after March 1, late registrants will pay $190 (instead of $170) for the main conference.

P.S. We have over twenty states represented as far away as California and Hawaii, as well as D.C., Canada, and Germany (yay, Eva).

[JMadonna]

It says on the web page that complete details will be printed in Nov 13.
Whats going on?

[L Verge]

The saga of our webpage is a story unto itself! Over a year ago, our domain name was bought out from under us because the company said we had failed to renew. They never sent us a bill or notice, so we never renewed. The new owner (at that time) was in Guatemala looking to sell the name to someone else at a huge profit.

It took months to get that much straightened out, and we registered a new domain name as www.surrattmuseum.org. We had planned to redo the site, and a Life Member of the Society in the Midwest volunteered to create a new one gratis because of the help we had given him while he was working on his doctorate. He has been doing the work on his free time (which he has very little of), and my part-time staff person has been assisting in her spare time. It is a much bigger project than what we had anticipated. We are about 75% done.

We mailed conference information to all 1600+ Surratt Society members in November. Aren't you still a member? Did you get a mailing? If not, I will certainly send a conference packet to you.

[ReignetteC]

Just a note to say that the registrations for the Surratt conference on March 14-16 continue to flow in, and our numbers will soon go over the 100 mark. The Friday bus tour to D.C. sites filled last week, and we have about ten people on a waiting list. The Sunday bus tour to Mosby Country has about ten seats available.

A reminder that the special room rate at Colony South Hotel is good only until Feb. 15. And, after March 1, late registrants will pay $190 (instead of $170) for the main conference.

P.S. We have over twenty states represented as far away as California and Hawaii, as well as D.C., Canada, and Germany (yay, Eva).

Hi, Laurie,

I mailed my reservation for the conference and the D.C. tour yesterday, but it looks like I am too late for the tour. As it looks like I will be #11 on a waiting list, is there any chance of a second bus if more reservation requests are made?

Thanks,
Reignette

[L Verge]

Unfortunately, we can only handle 50 people at a time. Ft. McNair is a heavily secured post, so just getting permission to bring one bus load on is a challenge. Also, the "courtroom" can only accommodate smaller groups; so, as I understand it, the participants will be divided into 3-4 smaller groups -- which eats up time. Even getting 50 people on and off a bus in a short period of time is a chore!

The Clara Barton offices are also fairly small. A major hang-up is also getting more than 50 people seated for lunch in a single restaurant and served in an expedient manner.

We have had many people try to sign up for just that trip and not the rest of the conference. There is a possibility that we may see if we can run this tour on its own sometime during 2014. That may not help those of you who are quite a distance away, however.

[ReignetteC]

Unfortunately, we can only handle 50 people at a time. Ft. McNair is a heavily secured post, so just getting permission to bring one bus load on is a challenge. Also, the "courtroom" can only accommodate smaller groups; so, as I understand it, the participants will be divided into 3-4 smaller groups -- which eats up time. Even getting 50 people on and off a bus in a short period of time is a chore!

The Clara Barton offices are also fairly small. A major hang-up is also getting more than 50 people seated for lunch in a single restaurant and served in an expedient manner.

We have had many people try to sign up for just that trip and not the rest of the conference. There is a possibility that we may see if we can run this tour on its own sometime during 2014. That may not help those of you who are quite a distance away, however.

Well, it will be a good excuse to visit again.

[L Verge]

Another conference update that is a bit difficult to pass on: Jason Emerson, author of Giant in the Shadows about Robert Lincoln, has canceled his talk at the conference -- and he has been booked in since May of 2013. I have several ideas for other speakers who can work into the theme of "Collateral Damage," but it is a tad frustrating with just six weeks to go. It's the first time we have had a speaker cancel on us.

[L Verge]

Bad news yesterday - Good news today. It's wonderful to have friends in scholarly fields. Dr. Blaine Houmes of this forum has stepped forth to fill the vacancy left on our conference agenda by Mr. Emerson. Blaine has spoken to our group before on medical issues related to the assassination and is always a crowd-pleaser.

With short notice, he has volunteered to extend our theme of "Collateral Damage" related to Lincoln's assassination into the medical realms of the effects on the Sewards and on Stanton (the latter being someone that we often view as the villain instead of a victim!). He will also give his views on the comparison of Lincoln's wound as opposed to that of JFK.

Thank you, kind sir...

[RJNorton]

Laurie, that is wonderful news!