"A Terrible Tragedy": Wisconsin and Lincoln's Assassination

“A Terrible Tragedy”: Wisconsin and Lincoln’s Assassination

This spring marks 150 years since President Abraham Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, on the evening of April 14, 1865. Like the rest of the United States, Wisconsin was horrified by what one newspaper called "a terrible tragedy."

Although the event occurred 1,000 miles away, Wisconsin citizens played a role in the event and its aftermath.  A handful of Wisconsinites witnessed the assassination; others saved mementos illustrating how they learned the news and later mourned the president’s death; and for a brief while the editor of the Wisconsin State Journal owned a bedspread that may have been on Lincoln’s deathbed before he donated it to the Wisconsin Historical Society. This special display explores these Wisconsin connections by sharing artifacts and images related to Lincoln’s assassination and the mourning of his death.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015 - Saturday, June 13, 2015 9 am- 4 pm

Wisconsin Historical Museum, 30 N Carroll St, Madison, WI 53703

608-264-6555, Email: museum@wisconsinhistory.org

Admission to the museum is by donation; Suggested donation of $4 for adults, $3 for children under 18, or $10 for a family.