Let’s be honest, when studying history it’s the interesting stories that stick most in your mind — not the many boring details, not big picture trends, and certainly not the names and dates. One of Germantown’s most interesting stories is that of George Atzerodt. George was a Prussian immigrant who moved to the area at the age of 8 or 9 with his extended family. The Atzerodts and their relatives, the Richters, had farm houses in southeastern Germantown before the Atzerodts relocated to Virginia in the 1850s. Despite being away for much of his adult life, George somehow retained relationships with a number of people in the area. Which would come in handy later in life.

The most interesting part of this story, however, is not Atzerodt’s childhood. It is his involvement in the Lincoln assassination plot.

During the early years of the US Civil War, George ran a rowboat blockade running service for the Confederates to cross the Potomac. The networks he built during this venture led him to John Wilkes Booth, who recruited him to be part of a plot to kidnap Lincoln because he knew the back routes of southern Maryland. Allegedly, he was unaware that the plot had changed until the morning of. This did not stop Booth from entrusting him with killing the Vice President, Andrew Johnson.

While a confederate sympathizer, Atzerodt lacked the conviction and zealotry of Booth. Thusly, by the time Booth was in Ford’s theatre, George was at a local bar getting drunk — not with the Vice President. When the news broke, he left the bar, tossed his knife into a gutter, and began meandering around the city as if to create an alibi.

The following morning, he fled the city, sneaking through the military barricade around the city by buying drinks for and sweet talking the soldiers posted there. Travelling with William Gaither (of Gaithersburg fame), he put as much distance between himself and the city as possible. He stayed for a night at the mill of Francis C. Clopper (of Clopper Rd. fame) and then walked to his cousin’s (Hartman Richter) house in Germantown. It was there that he was found and arrested for his role in the conspiracy to kill the President. Richter was arrested too, but released after questioning. George Atzerodt was convicted and executed in July of 1865 alongside several of Booth’s associates.

Stories like these are not only interesting, they also provide a window into our community’s past and identity. Germantown has always been home to immigrant families, like Atzerodt’s. In those days, they were primarily from the German kingdoms, but today they come from all over the world. Germantown also has had a complicated relationship with justice. Although the area sent troops to fight in the Union army, many locals were strong supporters of the confederacy. Many also enslaved people on their farms in the years leading up to the war. The legacy of these injustices persist all throughout Montgomery County even today. It is important to know all these parts of our history to truly understand how we got to the present.