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U.S. commemorates 150th anniversary of Lincoln's death

Xinhua, April 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

"As the dawn came and the lamplight grew pale," recalled U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's closest aide John Hay on April 14, 1865, the president's "pulse began to fail." Hay was at the Lincoln's side when the president passed away the next day.

A century and half after Lincoln's death, U.S. President Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States, issued a proclamation making Wednesday the Day of Remembrance for Lincoln.

"I also call upon the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on the Day of Remembrance for President Abraham Lincoln," said Obama in a proclamation, also encouraging all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on the day.

"President Abraham Lincoln believed that we are, at heart, one Nation and one people," said the proclamation. "At a time when America was torn apart and our very future was in doubt, he knew our country was more than a collection of States, and that we shared a bond that would not break."

Lincoln's assassination was one of the most shocking events in U.S. history. About a week before his death, a truce was reached between the army of the Confederate States and that of the Union, and the Civil War, the country's most destructive chapter, came to an end.

On April 14, 1865, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Booth shot Lincoln during a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C..

A series of events were held Tuesday and Wednesday to commemorate Lincoln. On Tuesday night, hundreds of people gathered outside Ford's Theatre as part of an around-the-clock event marking the assassination. On Wednesday morning, a huge crowd for ceremonies to mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's death filled a whole city block.

Commemoration events also included bell tolling in Lincoln's honor at locations across Washington, D.C. and wreath-laying ceremony outside the Petersen House where Lincoln eventually deceased. Endite