In honor of Women's History Month, Ranger Dani highlights the story of the talented and inspiring women who were performing at Ford's Theatre the night of President Lincoln's assassination.
Abraham Lincoln loved poetry and enjoyed reading poems from many writers, including Edgar Allan Poe. Lincoln first discovered Poe in the 1840s. Lincoln’s law partner later wrote that Lincoln, “carried Poe around on the Circuit—read and loved ‘The Raven’—repeated it over & over.” “The Raven” wasn’t the only work of Poe that he enjoyed, as he also read "The Gold Bug" and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." Honoring Lincoln's love of Poe, Ranger Dani reads "The Raven."
During the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, there were four different versions of the American flag; all flown by the Union Army during the Civil War. Join Ranger Jenny as she explores the history of the flag during these four years, provides some background on the design and colors chosen for our "Star Spangled Banner," and highlights the flag that served as a dramatic bookend to the start and end of the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train departed the nation’s capital on April 21, 1865. The nine-car train would deliver the beloved president through seven states and hundreds of communities, giving millions of grieving Americans a chance to pay their final respects. This elaborately-planned trip was unprecedented at the time, and would end in Springfield, Illinois. Join Ranger Jenny as she tells the story of Lincoln’s long journey home.
Join Ranger Jessica as she “visits” the Petersen Boarding House to talk about the events that took place there the night of April 14th, 1865 and someone who played an important, if overlooked, part in the investigation.
Image Sources:
Petersen Boarding House (NPS), Younger Tanner (Meserve-Kunhardt Collection at Yale), Elder Tanner (White, Thomas and White, Samuel. Ancestral Chronological Record of the William White Family, From 1607-8 to 1895. Concord, Mass., Republican Press, 1895)
Abraham Lincoln died in the Petersen House at 7:22am on April 15, 1865. In the moments after he took his last breath, his friend, and the country’s Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton said “Now he belongs to the ages.”
Today, we understand these words to be the perfect thing to say. Stanton accurately predicted that Lincoln’s legacy would impact all future generations.
But why? Why does Abraham Lincoln belong to the ages?
Ranger Jenny finds some answers with the help of visitors inside the Lincoln Memorial.
Ranger Dani honors the impact President Lincoln’s assassination had on the nation with a performance of Walt Whitman’s "O Captain! My Captain!" Very different and quite simple compared to Whitman's other works, the poem is an extended metaphor with only three stanzas and follows a classic rhyming scheme. Whitman created it this way so that the most people, including the large illiterate population, could appreciate the poem and use it as a coping tool for the sudden loss of their beloved president.
Ranger Eric explains the events of the night of April 14, 1865, taking viewers from the back of Ford's Theatre to inside the president's box, onto the stage, and out to the back alley of the theatre in the steps of John Wilkes Booth. Follow along as the story unfolds of one of the most infamous and tragic crimes in American history- the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Prince Rivers was one of tens of thousands of African American men who went from slavery to the battlefield, joining to fight for liberty, freedom and for the union of a country that wasn’t even theirs yet. This video provides a brief overview of a rich, compelling life.
Did you know that Lincoln loved poetry? Like theatre, it brought him a great deal of comfort and enjoyment. For most of his life, he kept one specific poem by his side. While he did not learn the title or author of it til late in life, his favorite poem was Mortality by William Knox. But how do we know it was his favorite? Check out the video to find out! Furthermore, enjoy a special reading of Lincoln’s favorite poem, all in honor of his birthday.
The Emancipation Proclamation changed the course and the purpose of the American Civil War, and was the beginning of the end of slavery in the United States. In this video, Ranger Jenny shares the story of one memorable reading of this historic document for the USCT First South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Port Royal, SC. This regiment was the first Black Union regiment that was composed exclusively of formerly enslaved men.
Every four years an American president is inaugurated. At these occasions, new presidents are introduced to the song “Hail to the Chief” for the first-time. President Abraham Lincoln heard that song for the final time at Ford’s Theatre on the night of April 14, 1865. This video presents a history of the patriotic song that is so closely associated with America’s presidents.
