Ford’s Theatre Remembers the 150th Anniversary of Lincoln’s Assassination

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Ford’s Theatre commemorated the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and death on April 14 and 15 with around-the-clock programming at the Ford’s Theatre campus. President Barack Obama proclaimed a Day of Remembrance for President Lincoln on the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s death— April 15, 2015.

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Those on hand for the memorial were given unprecedented access to the Ford’s Theatre Museum, Theatre, Petersen House and Center for Education and Leadership throughout the day and night; there were ranger talks and performances of the Society’s one-act play One Destiny; they enjoyed self-guided or historian-led tours of the Theatre; free midday panel discussions featured historians and scholars addressing national mourning and legacy; there were outdoor History on Foot walking tours; and there was a moving evening tribute to Abraham Lincoln, Now He Belongs to the Ages: A Lincoln Commemoration, at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, followed by a candlelight vigil on Tenth Street NW that featured more than 150 living historians in Civil War attire.

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On the morning of April 15, Ford’s Theatre Society and the National Park Service hosted a wreath-laying ceremony on the steps of the Petersen House (the house where Lincoln died). The Federal City Brass Band played “Taps” to mark the time of Lincoln’s death at 7:22 a.m., followed by a wreath laying and speaking program with remarks by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and James L. Swanson, author of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer. At 8 a.m. on April 15, bells tolled at locations across DC, including at the Washington National Cathedral.

*All images credit James Brantley for Ford’s Theatre