Between 46,000-51,000 Americans became casualties of one of the fiercest and most deadly battles of the Civil War. Get a walking tour of the battlefield that became the inspiration for one of the most important speeches in American history, President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Experience how words, along with time, can heal old wounds.

The site of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Night is the perfect time to see the capital, when white marble monuments and silvery pools glow in the floodlights. See the geometric memorials of the Mall—the imposing rectangular Lincoln Memorial, and the line of the Washington Monument bisecting the sky—as well as the innovative and moving monuments to the veterans of the Vietnam and Korean Wars.

Can you imagine how big a building would have to be to contain a collection of over 142 million books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts? Well, if you head to the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world, you won’t have to imagine any more! This mammoth collection is housed in three imposing buildings on Capitol Hill and is dedicated to providing congress and the people of the United States with an unparalleled collection of information.

Go on a guided tour of the building where the men and women who have been chosen to represent the citizens of the United States convene to discuss and decide on important legislature.

Created on the former estate of the family of Robert E. Lee’s wife Mary Anna Custis Lee (herself a descendant of Martha Washington), the Arlington National Cemetery contains the remains of more than 245,000 persons, mainly comprised of veterans and military casualties from every military incursion—from the American Revolution to the Iraq War. At the cemetery, make sure to visit the Tomb of Unknowns. Comprised of Yule marble quarried in Colorado, the tomb weighs more than 75 tons. And see the eternal flame that marks the grave of President John F. Kennedy.

Ford’s Theatre may not be the best place to visit if you’re in government—not only was Lincoln assassinated here in 1865, but 22 War Department clerks were also killed when the floor collapsed in 1893. Tour the infamous theater and see how John Wilkes Booth crept up behind the president’s private box, shot him point blank, and leapt down to the stage below (breaking his leg in the process).

Famous sites, national monuments and historical stories - experience them all as your cruise captain navigates your boat down the Potomac River for a unique view of the capital city.

On May 25, 1926, Congress passed the Public Buildings act authorizing a massive public buildings construction project, part of which was to provide office space for the growing Federal agencies in the nation's capital. This program led to the design and construction of buildings within the Federal Triangle area of downtown Washington DC, a then run-down area along Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. In 1937 the National Archives Building was complete. It has 72 Corinthian columns that are each 53 feet high, 5 feet 8 inches in diameter, and weigh 95 tons. Three inscriptions encircle the building. The west side reads: The glory and romance of our history are here preserved in the chronicles of those who conceived and builded [sic] the structure of our nation. The east side reads:This building holds in trust the records of our national life and symbolizes our faith in the permanency of our national institutions. The south side reads:The ties that bind the lives of our people in one indissoluble union are perpetuated in the archives of our government and to their custody this building is dedicated.

Choose between visiting the Air & Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the American Indian Museum or the American Art Museum. In a tomb in the Smithsonian Castle lie the remains of John Smithson, an Englishman who left his fortune to the U.S. government in 1829 for the establishment of a museum in his name. (The government was a bit at a loss, given that Smithson had never visited the U.S., had no connections to the U.S., and never told anyone why he was leaving his money to the U.S.) Since then, the Smithsonian Institution has grown into 16 museums, covering everything from art to zoology. See the giant squid and the insect zoo in the National Museum of Natural History, check out the Wright Brothers’ plane in the National Air and Space Museum, or venture with your Tour Director into the further reaches of this world-class institution.