Presidential order Lincoln signed in ‘final hours of his life’ recently found after being locked in desk for decades
https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-presidential-order-abraham-lincoln-signed-before-assasination-on-sale-raab-collection/
The date was April 11, 1865. Two days earlier, Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union forces in Virginia. That day, Lincoln’s work included the appointment of Allen M. Gangewere, a fellow anti-slavery advocate to a Treasury post, signing other documents, and standing in a hallway window of the White House to deliver a 10-minute speech that focused on the coming process of reconstruction.
The letter found was Lincoln’s original April 11, 1865, letter appointing Gangewere. Gangewere was a founder of the National Colored Home, established in the nation’s capital to relieve the suffering of destitute fugitive slaves. Gangewere had run an anti-slavery weekly newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, and later was private secretary to Ohio Gov. Salmon Chase, who became Lincoln’s Treasury secretary during the war.
During the week before Lincoln was gunned down, the president had pivoted to issues of reconstruction, and likely signed hundreds of letters in his final days. It was also pointed out that John Wilkes Booth attended the speech Lincoln delivered on April 11, 1865, and the actor-cum-assassin became incensed when Lincoln suggested giving the vote to Black soldiers who fought for the Union Army.
“That was the catalyst for Booth saying that Lincoln has to die,’’ Worthington said. Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head four nights later at Ford’s Theater after sneaking into the presidential box.