The Night the Nation Held Its Breath: Lincoln’s Assassination and the Dawn of a Fractured Peace

Mythology and Folklore

Washington, D.C. – April 15, 1865 – On the evening of April 14, 1865, just five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender effectively ended the American Civil War, the nation was plunged back into a profound and unprecedented crisis. At approximately 10:15 p.m., while attending a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford