Today from prison at Fort Monroe, Virginia, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis writes General Nelson A. Miles, the prison commandant. He requests permission to write his wife, obtain fresh clothes and reading materials, and receive a visit from the prison chaplain. He also inquires if his guard detail might be downsized. Davis’ treatment is a…
While officially over, the war continues winding down in many respects. In the North, the United States government is in the midst of a military commission trial of the conspirators in Lincoln‘s assassination, while President Andrew Johnson and Congress are engaged in the beginning stages of the difficult task of reforming Southern state governments, the…
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…