Includes bibliographical references and index.

1865, just days after Confederate surrender, astounded the war-weary nation. Massive crowds turned out for services and ceremonies. Countless expressions of grief and dismay were printed in newspapers and preached in sermons. Public responses to the assassination have been well chronicled, but this book is the first to delve into the personal and intimate responses of everyday peoplenortherners and southerners, soldiers and civilians, black people and white, men and women, rich and poor. Through deep and thoughtful exploration of diaries, letters, and other personal writings penned during the spring and summer of 1865, Martha Hodes, one of our finest historians, captures the full range of reactions to the presidents deathfar more diverse than public expressions would suggest. She tells a story of shock, glee, sorrow, anger, blame, and fear. Hodes masterfully brings the tragedy of Lincolns assassination alive in human termsterms that continue to stagger and rivet us one hundred and fifty years after the event they so strikingly describe.