(Page 16 of 17) Print Version
Abraham Lincoln's Deathbed Scene, ca. 1865
Maine Historical Society
April 9th marked Confederate Robert E. Lee’s surrender. Like, April 3rd, Biddeford and Saco rejoiced in the streets as the news of Lee’s surrender spread like wildfire. “All places of business were closed, and the mills shut down. Flags were to be seen everywhere, and the demand for red, white, and blue ribbons exhausted the millinery shops in short metre.”
The first two weeks of April 1865 represented a time of celebration that the Civil War was over. What was two weeks of celebrating abruptly turned into mourning; President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 15th.