More than a month has passed since the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Some Texas troops, although having learned of Lee’s surrender, have thus far refused to lay down their arms. Today in the Battle of Palmito Ranch they surprise a contingent of Union forces en route…
Jefferson Davis and his entourage, seeking to evade capture by federal forces, are fleeing southward. Today they arrive at Wilkes County, Georgia. Accompanying Davis is Confederate soldier Benjamin Chandler and his slave, Silas, a trained carpenter. Earlier in the war Silas had been the body servant of Sergeant Andrew M. Chandler. When Chandler was injured…
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…