160 Years Ago, President Lincoln's Death Brought Grief to Miami Countians
By Judy Deeter
On April 15, 1865, United States President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. Because our education about Lincoln comes from national sources, we have little knowledge of what happened in Troy and Miami County when area residents heard of his death. How did local people react when they learned of his tragic passing?
In mid-April 1865, there was great joy among the people of Miami County. After nearly four years of fighting, the American Civil War had finally ended with Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865. Though there had been no wartime battles in Miami County, everyone throughout the area seemed to have been touched by the war. A particular hardship was the absence—and sometimes death—of 500 local men who served in the war. Jubilation filled the streets of towns throughout Miami County when word came that the fighting was over. Unfortunately, that happiness lasted only a short time. Within hours of hearing the war was over, people learned that US President Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated. Their new-found joy suddenly turned to unspeakable grief.
The announcement of President Lincoln’s death came at the end of a great celebration in Troy. The celebration was held on Friday, April 14, 1865. It started at 4:00am with gunfire in the Public Square. Following the gunfire, all the bells in town were rung for an hour—bells at churches, schools, the fire station and the Miami County Courthouse. Troy was in a festive mood! American flags filled the town from windows to doorways. At 10:00am, a religious service was held at the Presbyterian Church on Franklin Street. (Ohio Governor Brough had asked that the day be one for prayer and thanksgiving.) At 12:00 Noon, a local militia fired 100 guns, followed by a parade of military men, the fire department and school children. The Troy band played from its new bandwagon, which was pulled by four fine horses. At the courthouse, there were both speakers and singers. The celebration lasted into the evening with more guns, bells and fireworks. The Troy Times newspaper of April 20, 1865 says, “The celebration on Friday was a complete affair from the morning gun till the last rocket at night.”
Then early on Saturday morning (April 15) word was received in Troy that President Lincoln had been assassinated at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. A veil of sadness seemed to suddenly cover the town. The Miami Union newspaper of April 22, 1865 says, “Scarcely had our last week’s issue reached the hand of our town readers last Saturday morning when the sad and astounding news flashed over the wires from one end of the Union to the other that Mr. Lincoln had just died from the effect of a shot received from a pistol in the hands of a cowardly assassin (actor John Wilkes Booth).” (The term “flashed over the wires” infers that the word of Lincoln’s death came to Troy by telegraph.)
Troy and Miami County immediately went into mourning. At 2:00pm on April 15th, a public meeting was held in Troy at the courthouse to plan for an appropriate local response to the President’s death. (In those years, the Miami County courthouse was on the south side of West Main Street between Cherry and Plum Streets.) A committee was established to make resolutions regarding the President’s death. Sunday the 16 th was set aside as a day of mourning.
The Troy Times of April 20, 1865 states: “On Saturday morning came the terrible news and grief and horror reigned supreme. Tolling bells and draped flags then. A public meeting was immediately called and a programme agreed upon for the morrow. Every pulpit was dressed in mourning and the pastors and people united in grief over the great calamity of the nation.”
It should be remembered that a second terrible event took place the same night as the Lincoln assassination. Though nearly forgotten today, it was known to local people at the time of Lincoln’s death and added to their grief. That night there was also an attempted assassination on the life of US Secretary of State William H. Seward. Seward had been involved in a carriage accident a few days earlier and was recuperating in his apartment bedroom. A would-be assassin named Lewis Paine entered the Seward apartment on the pretext that he had an urgent message from Seward’s doctor. Seward’s son Frederick told Paine that he could not see Seward, Paine put a pistol to Frederick Seward’s head and tried to shoot him. The two struggled and Paine made it to the elder Seward’s bedroom where he slashed at the head of Seward with a bowie knife. Seward’s daughter screamed for help and a nearby male nurse tried to drag Paine away from Seward. Paine soon ran out of the bedroom slashing those in the room as he left. Frederick Seward, who received a fractured skull in the incident, was credited with saving the life of his father.
The Troy committee decided that a service for Lincoln would be held at the Presbyterian Church in Troy for people of all faiths on the evening of Sunday April 16 th . The Miami Union newspaper of April 22, 1865 says that the church “was densely filled with citizens of the town and vicinity of both sexes.” Local attorney James T. Janvier, who attended the Presbyterian Church, wrote a hymn titled “Our Nation’s Sorrow”, which was sung by a choir at the service.
A resolution written to honor Lincoln was read during the service. Point 3 of the resolution is particularly interesting. It compares Lincoln to the Biblical character Moses. It reads: “That inasmuch as Moses, after having led the children of Israel from Egypt through the wilderness to the borders of the promised land, was not permitted to pass over to the goodly inheritance, so also, Abraham Lincoln, after having led the American people, under Divine guidance, through perils and trials of stupendous magnitude, to the bright dawn of peace, was not permitted to enter upon its enjoyment….”
The following Wednesday, a funeral for Lincoln was held in Washington, D.C. Locally, businesses and offices closed for a portion of the day and services for Lincoln were again held in local churches.
According to newspaper accounts of the time, not everyone grieved for Lincoln. There are reports of people who had often cursed Lincoln during the war; they kept quiet during the town’s time of mourning for fear of retaliation. A few days after the assassination, a public meeting was called at the Miami County Courthouse to decide what should happen to those who had spoken against Lincoln. One man, who had supposedly rejoiced over Lincoln’s death, was brought before the townspeople. The accused man gave an explanation of what he had said and
convinced the gathered crowd that he not meant anything offensive. He was let go.
At the end of April 1865, Lincoln’s body was taken by train from Washington, D.C. to his home in Springfield, Illinois. On April 29 th , his funeral train traveled through northern Miami County.
It is said that people gathered along the railroad tracks from Conover to Bradford to see the train. In Piqua, bands played, hymns were sung and there was a torchlight procession. As the train slowly went through Piqua, some spectators cut pieces from the crepe bunting on the train. The cutting of the crepe angered many who had come to see the train.
April 1865 was a very emotional for the citizens of Troy and Miami County. Within a few hours, their feelings gone from the heights of joy to the depths of sorrow. It is a time in history that has not been forgotten.
Microfilmed copies and digital copies of the Miami Union and Troy Times newspapers, which give accounts of the events of April 1865, are available for public viewing at the Troy-Miami County Public Library Local History & Genealogy Center, 510 W. Water St., Suite 210, Troy. Libraries and museums throughout southwest Ohio also have Civil War artifacts, books and photographs. For more information about the events mentioned in this story, contact The Troy Historical Society at (937) 339-5900 or by email at tths@frontier.com.