people were astonished, astoundsed, stupefied. people wrote word of lincoln's death was like a thunder clap from a clear, blue sky. it was a dreadful dream, a play on a stage. today we would say i felt like i was in a movie. it was a joke, a hoax, a lie and in particularly for former slaves it was a successionist lie. clergymen struggled to make it through their sermons, some unsuccessfully. the minister broke down and the tears rolled down his cheeks. union soldiers were weeping like children. lincoln's mourners were al angry, very angry. if another battle came to pass one soldier wrote to his mother, they're confederate opponents wish he told her they had never been born. the men of the famous black 54th massachusetts station said now there's no more peace. let us turn back and if necessary exterminate the race that can do such things. they were a distinct race. exterminate the race. i did find evidence of reprisals in the immediate moment after the assassination. these contradicted the proclamations of universal grief made by m