Lincoln Assassination Letter - Great Content!

Item LTR-470

Description

4 page original Civil War letter written in period ink and war dated.

Lyons, Walworth County, Wisconsin

Sunday Evening
April 30th 1865

Friend Drolgart,

As some time has elapsed since the reception of your last, I hasten now to respond to it. I intended to have answered sooner but my reasons are too numerous to mention.

I suppose when this reaches you have heard and read about the National calamity. Oh! Isn’t it horrible. How can it be so. When I first heard it I could not believe it. Only think of what great rejoicing there was for nearly a week. Flags fluttering so victoriously in the breeze and what great jubilees everywhere. And then came the sad intelligence that President Lincoln was assassinated while at Ford’s Theater Friday night. And when the sun shone upon another day, our noble wise and generous President was no more. Our country was in tears. Before noon the flags were at half mast draped in mourning. All businesses were closed—stores, churches, dwellings, etc. were also draped in mourning. The whole nation was in the deepest mourning. I presume you have read all about the funeral cortege. It is the greatest funeral ever known. I cannot take up a paper with hardly anything else in it, but about the funeral cortege.

I hope our President Johnson will do us as well as Lincoln was doing. If he and all of the cabinet and General Grant had been killed, which they intended to do, what a state our country would have been in. But their lives have been spared and I hope they will be until this unholy rebellion is closed. Think of the crime in the attempt to murder Secretary Seward while he lay helpless on the bed in his dwelling house. Oh! It makes my heart ache to think of it. Oh! I am sick, sick of war. When will it close. They say there will be no more fighting but I do not know. I hope they will get Jeff Davis and hang him. And hang all of them. They have sent J. Wilkes Booth where no one can find him. I presume you read the account.

Charlie was in all of that hard fighting at Mobile and we have not heard from him since the three last days of the fight. Whether he came out alive I cannot say. He was in the thickest of it. Spencer Weeks was killed. He stood in the same fight as Charlie and an Ohio Battery came along and took so many men out of each company to help them out. Some guns and Spencer happened to be one. And after they got them set he stood back behind and the first shell that was thrown burst and a piece flew back and hit his head and tore it in pieces. His funeral is to be next Sunday. It is so dark I cannot see. I shall stop until a candle or lamp makes its appearance. You have read all about the surrendering of Lee and Johnston. I do not think it is necessary for me to say anything about it. There was great rejoicing everywhere but it did not last long. The whole nation was thrown in the deepest of sorrow. I guess I have said enough on this subject but it seems as though I could talk. Oh! I do not know how long. I do not think of anything else or read.

Now Sergeant! You cannot say I have not written a long letter this time. If you do then I will write another! I have written in hast and hope you will consider who this came from and excuse poor writing and also poor pen. If you let anyone see this I’ll kill – never mind! I won’t tell you. I think I have written nonsense enough. I remain your friend and sympathize for our Chief Magistrate.

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