Details
[LINCOLN, Abraham]. Printed leaflet: General Order, No. 51. Navy Department Washington 15 April, 1865 The Department announces with profound sorrow to the officers and men of the Navy and Marine Corps the death of Abraham Lincoln....Stricken down by the hand of an assassin..../Flag Ship "Philadelphia": 25 April, 1865. 4o, 33 lines, 200 x 125 mm., printed on lined paper, black mourning borders, slight fading to one edge.
A very unusual survival, testifying to the dissemination of news of Lincoln's death among Union military still on duty. The handbill was
quickly printed abroad the the flagship of the Navy's South Atlantic Blockcading Sqdn., and reprints the original Gideon Welles notice of the President's death. It stipulates that flags be flown at half mast and gun salutes fired every half hour. The lined paper was evidently the only paper available for such a printing at sea. Very rare.
A very unusual survival, testifying to the dissemination of news of Lincoln's death among Union military still on duty. The handbill was
quickly printed abroad the the flagship of the Navy's South Atlantic Blockcading Sqdn., and reprints the original Gideon Welles notice of the President's death. It stipulates that flags be flown at half mast and gun salutes fired every half hour. The lined paper was evidently the only paper available for such a printing at sea. Very rare.