The war had been over for five days when Good Friday dawned, fair and warm.. President Lincoln woke in a cheerful mood. He ate breakfast with his family and later took a drive with his wife. He and Mary discussed the future, and he expressed a desire to travel and return to his law practice in Illinois after his second term ended. He also told her that they “must be more cheerful” now that the war had ended. Afterwards, he took a brief trip to the War Department with his bodyguard, Detective William Crook, who begged him to reconsider his evening plans. Lincoln, however, felt in need of a laugh and insisted the weary Crook go home for the night..
The Lincolns finally left the White House around 8:15. When they arrived at Ford’s Theater, they were greeted with a standing ovation. The only guard with them that night was a drunkard named John Parker. At some point, Parker disappeared from his post. The president, none the wiser, tried to relax and enjoy the play. Suddenly, however, a gunshot broke through the audience’s laughter. Mary screamed, and a man wielding a dagger leapt from the presidential box onto the stage. Two doctors in the audience rushed to Lincoln’s aid, but both agreed: his time was short.
He was carried across the street to the Petersen boarding house. There, his cabinet members gathered around him, distraught. Robert, the eldest Lincoln son, arrived and attempted to comfort his hysterical mother, but was himself overcome by grief. At 7:22 on the morning of April 15, Lincoln died. His Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, was heard to say, “Now he belongs to the ages.” He was fifty-six years old.
