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Lincoln’s last ride

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* From WUIS…

The nation went into mourning when, just after the Civil War had finally ended, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. No one alive today can remember, but a class project may make you get a sense of what it was like, or at least what went on.

Students at the University of Illinois Springfield began “live-tweeting” on April 14 - the date that that Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater back in 1865. They’ve continued, tweeting in real time — 150 years after the fact — about the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth, and the funeral cortege from Washington, D.C. to Springfield. Amanda Vinicky spoke with UIS professor Ken Owen about the project, and his class on history in digital media.

If you want to read the “live tweets” follow @AbesLastRide… (T)he Looking for Lincoln project is doing something similar using the twitter handle @ElizaStavely (a journalist in 1865). .

* I put together a ScribbleLive feed…

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 9:48 am

Comments

Anyone know where you can find some “action” in Springfield once this is over? #fightingjoehooker

Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 10:30 am
This is really a neat way to relive history.
A local friend said they attended the Springfield performance of “My American Cousin” on the anniversary of the assassination.

The play was temporarily stopped at that part of the performance when Lincoln was shot. They then continued on.

Said it was a very moving event.

Comment by Downstate Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 10:48 am
Downstate, I saw the play as well. And yes, it was an extremely moving moment.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 10:49 am
The American Interest had a blog called The Long Recall, which unfortunately shut down a few years ago, that posted daily news and commentary from the Civil War era as the war unfolded. It’s great to have digital media projects like these to connect to history. Thank you to these students and historians.

https://web.archive.org/web/20131115133039/http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/civilwar/

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 12:55 pm
Scrolling through their postings has me wondering how events of the past would have been covered today and how that coverage could play a part in how we view things. Think of CNN covering the events of WW 1 or WW 2, or for that matter the Civil War.

Comment by Give Me A Break Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 12:57 pm
Very cool project!

Comment by Both Sides Now Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 1:00 pm
This is cool.

Comment by Just Me Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 1:11 pm
I agree–this is very cool. Thank you for sharing.

Comment by 32nd Ward Roscoe Village Thursday, Apr 30, 15 @ 3:15 pm