The Night Lincoln Was Shot… and Everyone Was Drinking
A Drinking Story
April 14, 1865. Five days after the Civil War effectively ended, Abraham Lincoln went to Ford's Theatre expecting a night of laughter. Washington, D.C. was in full celebration mode. Saloons were packed. Victory drinks were flowing. And next door to the theater, at the crowded Star Saloon, two men connected to history’s most infamous crime moved through the same room: Lincoln’s bodyguard and his killer, John Wilkes Booth. This week on A Drinking Story, we examine how alcohol didn’t cause the assassination—but helped create the conditions around it. From Booth’s heavy brandy habit, to...
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A Story about Beer Building the Pyramids
A Drinking Story
Beer is older than writing, older than money, and older than the wheel. It wasn't just a drink — it built civilizations. Literally. We know ancient aliens and enslaved labor didn't build the Egyptian Pyramids because of beer. Archaeologists found the receipts right at the base: barracks, bakeries, clinics, and an industrial size brewery. And that's just where the story starts. History didn't happen in spite of drinking. It happened because of it. Melissa Huston is an Annapolis-based historian and storyteller. Her husband Sam Huston is a beverage industry specialist covering the Mid-Atlantic...
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A Drinking Story - NEW season starting soon
A Drinking Story
Alcohol and human society have been together for at least 13,000 years. And in that time, drinking has built empires, started wars, toppled governments and shaped the course of history. Hi. I'm Melissa Huston. And this is A Drinking Story — about when history was drunk, and what they were drinking when they were. This isn't Drunk History. This is something different. These are the moments in time that were directly shaped by imbibing. When beer, wine or liquor effected the historical outcome. With me will be Sam Huston, an expert from the spirits industry, who will be breaking...
info_outlineApril 14, 1865. Five days after the Civil War effectively ended, Abraham Lincoln went to Ford's Theatre expecting a night of laughter.
Washington, D.C. was in full celebration mode. Saloons were packed. Victory drinks were flowing. And next door to the theater, at the crowded Star Saloon, two men connected to history’s most infamous crime moved through the same room: Lincoln’s bodyguard and his killer, John Wilkes Booth.
This week on A Drinking Story, we examine how alcohol didn’t cause the assassination—but helped create the conditions around it. From Booth’s heavy brandy habit, to a policeman drinking instead of guarding the President, to a co-conspirator who got drunk and lost his nerve, this is the story of one of America’s darkest nights through the lens of what everyone was drinking.
A Drinking Story — when history was drunk, and what they were drinking when they were.
Sources & Further Reading
- Ford’s Theatre. History of Ford’s Theatre / Lincoln’s Assassination. https://fords.org/lincolns-assassination/history-of-fords-theatre/
- Smithsonian Magazine. Lincoln’s Missing Bodyguard. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-12932069/
- Oakland University Digital Collections. Archival PDF Collection Related to Lincoln Assassination Era Sources. https://digitalcollections.library.oakland.edu/files/original/26011c0b48717f53765b209aa645cf76d504bc4f.pdf
- Playbill. The Night Lincoln Was Shot: Minute by Minute Backstage with John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre. https://playbill.com/article/the-night-lincoln-was-shot-minute-by-minute-backstage-with-john-wilkes-booth-at-fords-theatre-com-346483
- National Park Service. Ford’s Theatre Frequently Asked Questions. https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/faq-fords-theatre.htm
- History.com. What Lincoln Said in His Final Speech. https://www.history.com/articles/what-lincoln-said-in-his-final-speech
- NAACP. Legislative Milestones: Voting Rights Act of 1965. https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/legislative-milestones/voting-rights-act-1965/