The evening before, Lincoln and his wife had been enjoying a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC when Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated him. Doctors rushed to his side and had him moved out of the theatre to the Petersen House across the street. Mary and Lincoln's son Robert spent the night at his bedside until he died early the next morning.
Historian James L. Swanson describes the city's reaction:
"Imagine 9/11 and multiply it. Imagine the Kennedy Assassination and multiply it. The city was rocked by this. It was the happiest week in America and imagine all those hopes dashed in moments."
The day of his assassination, Lincoln told his wife that he "considers this day the war has come to a close." In addition, he told his cabinet members earlier that day about a recurring dream he had before great events. This time, tragically, good news did not follow.
This morning, on 10th Street NW in Washington, DC, people gathered outside the Petersen House and Ford's Theatre to honor Lincoln. A wreath was laid, bells across the city rang out and a Civil War reenactor band performed The Battle Hymn of the Republic. As Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said at the ceremony, "Lincoln lives to this day...in our journey to perfect our nation."
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