The shock wave of grief was followed by a need for vengeance. The Tribune reported a rebel sympathizer in Washington, D.C., upon being told that Lincoln was dead, said, "I am damn glad of it." He had barely finished the statement, when the soldier put a bullet through his head.
In San Francisco, mobs attacked the offices of newspapers associated with the Democratic party, which had opposed Lincoln's re-election in 1864. When the wife of a Copperhead (Confederate supporter) ordered her husband's store's clerks to take down the mourning drapery, a crowd assembled and forced its replacement.
Several of Booth's co-conspirators had been captured by April 19, the day of Lincoln's funeral service in the east room of the White House. That ceremony coincided with others across the United States and the Tribune reported: "The tears which flowed so lavishly on the announcement of his death broke out afresh, and the national sorrow knew no bounds."
The Nation Mourns Its Fallen Leader. --Old Secesh
No comments:
Post a Comment