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

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.

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.

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