PLUNGED INTO SORROW.
Washington City was delirious with gladness when General Grant
"came marching home," and the telegraph wires from every part of
the country recently in rebellion vibrated with the tidings of
victory and submission. Orders from the War Department went out
over the loyal North proclaiming the absolute overthrow of the
Rebellion, the return of peace, the stopping of recruiting, the
raising of the blockade, the reduction of national expenditures,
and the removal of all military restrictions upon trade and commerce,
so far as might be consistent with public safety. Drafting had
been one of the most grievous burdens of the war, but it had been
rigorously pressed in all States which had not otherwise furnished
their quotas of troops. When the surrender occurred, the dread
wheel was in operation in many places, and drawn men were in custody
of the proper officials preparing to go to the front. But all this
was stopped, and none were happier than those who involuntarily
had been held thus for military duty, but who now became free.
The 13th of April was a day of general rejoicing at the metropolis.
The stars and stripes waved over the public and many of the private
buildings, business was suspended, and men went about in groups
indulging in libations to the return of peace. As night came on
the departments and many private houses were illuminated, bonfires
blazed in the streets, and fireworks lit up the sky. In the forts
and camps around the city blazed huge bonfires, while the heavy
siege guns thundered their joyful approval of peace.
It was announced in the newspapers of that day that President
Lincoln, accompanied by General Grant, would attend Ford's Theatre
the next night. The President did extend an invitation to his
victorious commander to accompany him, but General Grant, always
adverse to public demonstrations, declined, that he might go at
once to Burlington, New Jersey, with Mrs. Grant, to "see the
children." The Presidential party consequently was only four in
number--President Lincoln, his wife, Miss Harris, and Major Rathbone.
Only one of the two stage-boxes which had been decorated for the
party was occupied. When the President appeared, about a quarter
before nine o'clock, the play was stopped, the orchestra played
"Hail to the Chief," and the crowded audience gave a succession of
vociferous cheers.
The play proceeded. Mr. Lincoln and his party were in fine spirits,
intently watching the performance, when a pistol-shot was heard,
and the first impression of every one was that it was fired on the
stage. So thought Major Rathbone, until, looking around, he saw
smoke and a man with a drawn dagger in his hand. The truth
indistinctly flashed into his mind; he arose and seized the unknown
man with both hands. A momentary scuffle ensued, in which the
assassin made a thrust at the Major, grazing his breast and piercing
his left arm near the shoulder. Something seemed to give way about
the man's coat collar, and he disappeared. The smoke prevented
the Major or Miss Harris from getting a fair view of the fellow,
and Mrs. Lincoln did not see him until he leaped out of the box.
Her first impression was that it was her husband who leaped out.
Meantime the assassin appeared on the edge of the box, crying "_Sic
Semper Tyrannis!_" and flourishing a dagger, he leaped to the stage.
He crossed the stage rapidly, exclaiming, "Revenge!" and, again
flourishing his dagger, disappeared, saying "I have done it!"
Though quickly pursued, it was too late. Leaving the theatre by
a back door, he mounted his horse in waiting there and was gone.
The President was seen to turn in his seat, and persons leaped upon
the stage and clambered up to the box. His clothes were stripped
from his shoulders but no wound was at first found. He was entirely
insensible. Further search revealed the fact that he had been shot
in the head, and he was carried to the nearest house, immediately
opposite. Mrs. Lincoln, in a frantic condition, was assisted in
crossing the street with the President, at the same time uttering
heart-rending shrieks. Surgeons were soon in attendance, but it
was evident that the wound was mortal.
It was a night of terror. The long roll was beaten in the distant
camps, and the soldiers throughout the encircling fortifications
stood to their arms; mounted men patrolled the streets in every
direction; the tolling of the church-bells fell heavily on the ear
and entered deep into all hearts, and it was not only President
Lincoln, but it was reported that Mr. Seward and other members of
the Cabinet had been assassinated. Mr. Seward was indeed murderously
assaulted upon his sick-bed, but he escaped with his life. Amid
these terrors the sleepless citizens fell from their heights of
joy to the depths of gloom.
With the morning came the President's death at an early hour. As
the bells tolled his departure, the bloom of the national colors
was shrouded in black, and the weather was cheerless, cold, and
damp. If ever nature sympathized with man since the time when the
sun was darkened and the dead walked the streets of Jerusalem, it
certainly seemed to do so on the memorable 15th of April, which
ushered in the saddest news that ever fell upon the ears of the
American people.
It was known, beyond a doubt, before Mr. Lincoln breathed his last,
that his assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a son of the great tragedian,
then twenty-seven years of age. He had played stock parts at
Washington and other Southern and Western cities, where he had
given unmistakable evidence of genuine dramatic talent. He had,
added to his native genius, the advantage of a voice musically full
and rich; a face almost classic in outline; features highly
intellectual; a piercing, black eye, capable of expressing the
fiercest and the tenderest passion and emotion, and a commanding
figure and impressive stage address. In his transition from the
quiet and reflective passages of a part to fierce and violent
outbreaks of passion, his sudden and impetuous manner had in it
something of that electrical force and power which made the elder
Booth so celebrated, and called up afresh to the memory of men of
the preceding generation the presence, voice, and manner of his
father. Convivial in his habits, sprightly and genial in conversation,
John Wilkes Booth made many friends among the young men of his own
age, and he was a favorite among the ladies at the National Hotel,
where he boarded.
The funeral honors paid to President Lincoln at Washington, on the
19th of April, were a fitting tribute to the illustrious dead.
The dawn that was ushered in by the heavy booms of salutes of minute-
guns from the fortifications surrounding the city never broke purer
or brighter or clearer than on this morning. The day that followed
was the loveliest of the season. The heavens were undimmed by even
one passing cloud.
At a very early hour people began to assemble in the vicinity of
the Executive Mansion, which was almost entirely draped in crape,
as were also the buildings, public and private, in the neighborhood.
All over the city public houses and private residences were closed.
At twelve o'clock the ceremonies commenced in the East Room, whose
ceilings were draped, and whose resplendent mirrors were hung on
the borders with emblems of mourning and white drapery, which gave
the room a dim light that was adapted to the solemnity of the
mournful scene. All that remained of Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth
President of the United States, lay on the grand and gloomy
catafalque, which was relieved, however, by choice flowers.
The spectators of the sorrowful scene were not merely the
representatives of our people in Congress and of state, but the
executive officers and Cabinet Ministers, the Chief Justice of the
United States and his associates on the bench of that venerated
tribunal, chieftains who protected our homes by service in the
field and on the ocean, the clergy, and multitudes in various
positions in the affairs of state and from private life, and an
imposing array of Ambassadors, with their less elevated attaches,
with gorgeous decorations. Perhaps the most touching grief, and
the one which moved all present, was that of little Thaddeus Lincoln,
a favorite son. He and his elder brother, Robert, were the only
mourners of the family present.
During the service President Johnson stood beside the remains of
his predecessor, and during the oration, General Grant sat at the
head of the corpse. The Rev. Dr. L. Hall, rector of the Church of
the Epiphany, rose and read portions of the service for the burial
of the dead. Bishop Simpson offered a prayer, in which he fervently
alluded to the emancipation and other deeds performed by President
Lincoln. The Rev. Dr. Gurley then read a funeral oration. At two
P. M. the funeral procession started, all of the bells in the city
tolling, and minute-guns firing from all the forts. Pennsylvania
Avenue, from the Treasury to the Capitol, was entirely clear from
curb to curb. Preceding the hearse was the military escort, over
one mile long, the arms of each officer and man being draped with
black. At short intervals bands discoursed dirges and drums beat
muffled sounds. After the artillery came the civic procession,
headed by Marshal Lamon, the Surgeon-General, and physicians who
attended the President. At this point the hearse appeared, and
the thousands, as it passed, uncovered their heads.
The funeral car was large. The lower base was fourteen feet long
and seven feet wide, and eight feet from the ground. The upper
base, upon which the coffin rested, was eleven feet long and five
feet below the top of the canopy. The canopy was surmounted by a
gilt eagle, covered with crape. The hearse was entirely covered
with cloth, velvet, crape, and alpaca. The seat was covered with
cloth, and on each side was a splendid lamp. The car was fifteen
feet high, and the coffin was so placed as to afford a full view
to all spectators. It was drawn by six gray horses, each attended
by a groom.
The pall-bearers were, on the part of the Senate, Foster, of
Connecticut; Morgan, of New York; Johnson, of Maryland; Yates, of
Illinois; Wade, of Ohio, and Conness, of California. On the part
of the House, Davis, of Massachusetts; Coffroth, of Pennsylvania;
Smith, of Kentucky; Colfax, of Indiana; Worthington, of Nevada,
and Washburne, of Illinois. On the part of the army, Lieutenant-
General Grant, Major-General Halleck, and Brigadier-General Nichols.
On the part of the navy, Vice-Admiral Farragut, Rear-Admiral
Shubrick, and Colonel Jacob Ziellen, of the Marine Corps. Civilians,
O. H. Browning, George P. Ashmun, Thomas Corwin, and Simon Cameron.
After the hearse came the family, consisting only of Robert Lincoln
and his little brother and their relatives. Mrs. Lincoln did not
go out. Next was President Johnson, riding in a carriage with
General Auger on the right, and General Slough on the left, mounted.
Following him were the Cabinet, Chief Justice Chase and the Supreme
Bench, and the Diplomatic Corps, who were then succeeded by Senators
and Representatives. The procession then reached two miles more,
and was composed of public officers, delegations from various cities
and members of civic societies, together with another large display
of military. Some five thousand colored men were a prominent
feature toward the end.
The procession was two hours and ten minutes in passing a given
point, and was about three miles long. The centre of it had reached
the Capitol and was returning before the rear had left Willard's.
In one single detachment were over six thousand civil employees of
the Government. Arriving at the Capitol, the remains were placed
in the centre of the rotunda, beneath the mighty dome, which had
been draped in mourning inside and out. The Rev. Dr. Gurley, in
the presence of hundreds, impressively pronounced the burial
service.
President Lincoln's remains were taken from the rotunda at six
o'clock on the morning of April 21st, and escorted to the train
which was to convey them to Springfield. The remains of little
Willie Lincoln, who died in February, 1862, and which had been
placed in the vault at Oak Hill Cemetery, were removed to the depot
about the same time, and placed in the same car with the remains
of his lamented father.
[Facsimile]
Andrew Johnson
ANDREW JOHNSON was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, December 29th,
1808; was a Representative in Congress from Tennessee, 1843-1853;
was Governor of Tennessee, 1853-1857; was a United States Senator
from Tennessee from December 7th, 1857, until he was appointed
Military Governor of that State; was elected Vice-President of the
United States on the Republican ticket with Abraham Lincoln and
was inaugurated March 4th, 1865; became President after the
assassination of President Lincoln, April 15th, 1865; was impeached
and acquitted, May 26th, 1868; was again elected United States
Senator from Tennessee, serving at the Special Session of 1875,
and died in Carter County, Tennessee, July 31st, 1875.