April 14, 1865: President Lincoln is Assassinated On this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at the Ford’s Theatre. Booth planned the assassination and hoped to spark support for the Confederates. This occurred days after the end of the Civil War, where the Confederate Army surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.President Lincoln entered into a coma, but unfortunately passed away the next day. On April 20th, a funeral was held for President Lincoln at the White House. Two days later, Lincoln’s funeral train departed from Washington, D.C. where it traveled around the U.S. for twelve days giving Americans an opportunity to mourn the loss of one of America’s greatest presidents. Learn more about the moments building up to Lincoln’s assassination and the events following it with American Experience’s timeline.  Image: Abraham Lincoln half-portrait, Box in which Lincoln was assassinated (Library of Congress)
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April 14, 1865: President Lincoln is Assassinated On this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at the Ford’s Theatre. Booth planned the assassination and hoped to spark support for the Confederates. This occurred days after the end of the Civil War, where the Confederate Army surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.President Lincoln entered into a coma, but unfortunately passed away the next day. On April 20th, a funeral was held for President Lincoln at the White House. Two days later, Lincoln’s funeral train departed from Washington, D.C. where it traveled around the U.S. for twelve days giving Americans an opportunity to mourn the loss of one of America’s greatest presidents. Learn more about the moments building up to Lincoln’s assassination and the events following it with American Experience’s timeline.  Image: Abraham Lincoln half-portrait, Box in which Lincoln was assassinated (Library of Congress)
Zoom Info

April 14, 1865: President Lincoln is Assassinated

On this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at the Ford’s Theatre. Booth planned the assassination and hoped to spark support for the Confederates. This occurred days after the end of the Civil War, where the Confederate Army surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

President Lincoln entered into a coma, but unfortunately passed away the next day. On April 20th, a funeral was held for President Lincoln at the White House. Two days later, Lincoln’s funeral train departed from Washington, D.C. where it traveled around the U.S. for twelve days giving Americans an opportunity to mourn the loss of one of America’s greatest presidents. 

Learn more about the moments building up to Lincoln’s assassination and the events following it with American Experience’s timeline. 

Image: Abraham Lincoln half-portrait, Box in which Lincoln was assassinated (Library of Congress)

November 19, 1863: Lincoln Delivers Gettysburg Address On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War. The speech reflected Lincoln’s redefined conviction that the Civil War was not just a fight to maintain the Union but also a struggle for freedom and equality for all. Although the speech consisted of only 272 words, it remains one of the most powerful and memorable discourses in American history. Read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on Ken Burns’s “The Civil War” site.   Photo: Only known and confirmed photograph of Lincoln at Gettysburg, Library of Congress
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November 19, 1863: Lincoln Delivers Gettysburg Address

On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War.

The speech reflected Lincoln’s redefined conviction that the Civil War was not just a fight to maintain the Union but also a struggle for freedom and equality for all. Although the speech consisted of only 272 words, it remains one of the most powerful and memorable discourses in American history.

Read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on Ken Burns’s “The Civil War” site.  

Photo: Only known and confirmed photograph of Lincoln at Gettysburg, Library of Congress

Source: to.pbs.org

September 22, 1862: Abraham Lincoln Issues Emancipation Proclamation On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This declaration set a date for the freedom of more than three million black slaves in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation ordered the emancipation of all slaves residing in Confederate states that had not returned to Union control by January 1, 1963. It emphasized the mission of the Civil War as a fight against slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed and issued on January 1, 1863. To read Lincoln’s legendary decree, visit Ken Burns’s The Civil War site. Photo: Chromolithograph by The Strobridge Lith. Co., c1888 (Library of Congress)
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September 22, 1862: Abraham Lincoln Issues Emancipation Proclamation

On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This declaration set a date for the freedom of more than three million black slaves in the United States.

The Emancipation Proclamation ordered the emancipation of all slaves residing in Confederate states that had not returned to Union control by January 1, 1963. It emphasized the mission of the Civil War as a fight against slavery.

The Emancipation Proclamation was signed and issued on January 1, 1863.

To read Lincoln’s legendary decree, visit Ken Burns’s The Civil War site.

Photo: Chromolithograph by The Strobridge Lith. Co., c1888 (Library of Congress)

Source: to.pbs.org

July 3, 1863:  Battle of Gettysburg Ends
 
This day in 1863 marks the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, which left 23,000 Union soldiers killed, wounded, or missing. The Confederates suffered approximately 25,000 casualties, making it the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War.
 
In November of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address at the Dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA.  He declared America’s representative democracy as a “government of the people, by the people, for the people”. 

Watch an excerpt of the Ken Burns’s film The Civil War depicting the Dedication event.

Source: to.pbs.org

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