Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 2 (of 2)Herndon, William Henry
History
Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 2 (of 2)
Herndon, William Henry
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
The funeral train reached Springfield on the 3d of May. The casket was
borne to the State House and placed in Representative Hall--the very
chamber in which in 1854 the deceased had pronounced that fearful
invective against the sin of human slavery. The doors were thrown open,
the coffin lid was removed, and we who had known the illustrious dead
in other days, and before the nation lay its claim upon him, moved sadly
through and looked for the last time on the silent, upturned face of our
departed friend. All day long and through the night a stream of people
filed reverently by the catafalque. Some of them were his colleagues
at the bar; some his old friends from New Salem; some crippled soldiers
fresh from the battle-fields of the war; and some were little children
who, scarce realizing the impressiveness of the scene, were destined to
live and tell their children yet to be born the sad story of Lincoln's
death.
At ten o'clock in the morning of the second day, as a choir of
two-hundred-and-fifty voices sang "Peace, Troubled Soul," the lid of the
casket was shut down forever. The remains were borne outside and placed
in a hearse, which moved at the head of a procession in charge of
General Joseph Hooker to Oak Ridge cemetery. There Bishop Matthew
Simpson delivered an eloquent and impressive funeral oration, and Rev.
Dr. Gurley, of Washington, offered up the closing prayer. While the
choir chanted "Unveil Thy Bosom, Faithful Tomb," the vault door opened
and received to its final rest all that was mortal of Abraham Lincoln.
"It was soon known that the murder of Lincoln was one result of a
conspiracy which had for its victims Secretary Seward and probably
Vice-President Johnson, Secretary Stanton, General Grant, and perhaps
others. Booth had left a card for Mr. Johnson the day before, possibly
with the intention of killing him. Mr. Seward received wounds, from
which he soon recovered. Grant, who was to have accompanied Lincoln to
the theatre on the night of the assassination, and did not, escaped
unassailed. The general conspiracy was poorly planned and lamely
executed. It involved about twenty-five persons. Mrs. Surratt, David C.
Harold, Lewis Payne, Edward Spangler, Michael O'Loughlin, J. W.
Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, and Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth's leg, which
was dislocated by the fall from the stage-box, were among the number
captured and tried.
"After the assassination Booth escaped unmolested from the theatre,
mounted his horse, and rode away, accompanied by Harold, into Maryland.
Cavalrymen scoured the country, and eleven days after the shooting
discovered them in a barn on Garrett's farm, near Port Royal on the
Rappahannock. The soldiers surrounded the barn and demanded a surrender.
After the second demand Harold surrendered, under a shower of curses
from Booth, but Booth refused, declaring that he would never be taken
alive. The captain of the squad then fired the barn. A correspondent
thus describes the scene:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account