Americans will always remember April 14, 1865 as a sad day. It was the date when President Abraham Lincoln was killed at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC.
The “Lincoln Flag” was borne unexpectedly, although at the time, it was considered just like any other ordinary national flag. The flag used to have only 36 white stars since there were fewer states then. The banner was placed as a front bunting on the State Box where the president and his wife were seated on the night of the show.
The assassin John Wilkes Booth pulled the trigger and fired a .44 caliber ball point blank from his derringer straight into the back of the head of President Lincoln’s head. Immediately, the flag was taken out of its position on the front of the State Box to serve as a pillow for the president’s head as he laid down and died.
This is when the “Lincoln Flag” became such a special banner in the course of American history. The flag would move on to stand for the “National Sadness” that the entire country felt as a continuation of the depression brought by four years of Civil War. Thomas Gourley was the person who made the flag into a pillow for the president that night and he and his family would be tasked to care for the special banner in the years to come.
The big 36-star U.S. Flag was placed over the front of the State Box at Ford’s Theater. Before he was shot, Lincoln and his wife Mary and other guests were watching “Our American Cousin”, starring the actress Laura Keene.
Booth’s plan was executed perfectly, considering that even Lincoln’s personal bodyguard was not there that evening. Booth may have planned long before the night of the gala to complete his evil mission.
Labels: American flag, custom flag, custom flag maker, custom flag. personalized flag
by:
The Flagman
