Chapter 26: Freed Blacks in Richmond Cheer Lincoln’s Visit

On April 4, 1865 – just five days before the surrender at Appomattox – he journeys by boat to visit the liberated Confederate capital of Richmond. His intent is to begin to heal the wounds caused by the war.

One of his bodyguards, William H. Crook, records his reception by the freed Blacks:

The shore for some distance before we reached Richmond was black with negroes.
They had heard that Lincoln was on his way. They were wild with excitement, yelling
“Dar comes Massa Linkum, de Sabier ob da land – we is so glad to see him.

As he walks through the city on the way to Jefferson Davis’s headquarters, he is mobbed by Blacks, with many kneeling to kiss his hand.