Today in Charleston, South Carolina some 10,000 mostly black persons, of whom Baptists are predominant, gather in the city’s Hampton Park in what becomes America’s first Memorial Day observance, also known as Decoration Day. Among the crowd are church leaders, women’s organizations and freedmen. All gather to honor the fallen Union soldiers whose death brought…
Today Lincoln‘s body lies in state in Indianapolis. Overcast, rainy skies match the somber and sorrowful mood of the tens of thousands of mourners who parade past the coffin. While Indianapolis mourns, a Union meeting of Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian congregations of Panama, New York features a discourse on “The Life and Character of Abraham…
Today Lincoln‘s funeral train stops in Columbus, Ohio, where the president’s body is viewed by some 50,000 persons. Departing at 8:00 P.M. for Indianapolis, in the countryside the train passes many bonfires lit in tribute to Lincoln. The nation is concurrently following developments concerning Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, killed three days earlier while attempting…