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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.04.17 13:32l 49 Lines 2146 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 29573_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Apr 15
Path: IW8PGT<IR2UBX<IW2OHX<IR1UAW<IQ5KG<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 170415/1222Z 29573@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.13
1865
Lincoln dies from an assassin's bullet
President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United
States, dies from an assassin's bullet. Shot by John Wilkes Booth
at Ford's Theater in Washington the night before, Lincoln lived
for nine hours before succumbing to the severe head wound he
sustained.
Lincoln's death came just after the surrender of Confederate
General Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
Lincoln had just served the most difficult presidency in history,
successfully leading the country through civil war. His job was
exhausting and overwhelming at times. He had to manage a
tremendous military effort, deal with diverse opinions in his own
Republican party, counter his Democratic critics, maintain morale
on the northern home front, and keep foreign countries such as
France and Great Britain from recognizing the Confederacy. He did
all of this, and changed American history when he issued the
Emancipation Proclamation, converting the war goal from reunion
of the nation to a crusade to end slavery.
Now, the great man was dead. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said,
"Now, he belongs to the ages." Word spread quickly across the
nation, stunning a people who were still celebrating the Union
victory. Troops in the field wept, as did General Ulysses S.
Grant, the overall Union commander. Perhaps no group was more
grief stricken than the freed slaves. Although abolitionists
considered Lincoln slow in moving against slavery, many freedmen
saw "Father Abraham" as their savior. They faced an uncertain
world, and now had lost their most powerful proponent.
Lincoln's funeral was held on April 19, before a funeral train
carried his body back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.
During the two-week journey, hundreds of thousands gathered along
the railroad tracks to pay their respects, and the casket was
unloaded for public viewing at several stops. He and his son,
Willie, who died in the White House of typhoid fever in 1862,
were interred on May 4.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
Winlink: n0kfq@winlink.org
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