If I say "monument to Abraham Lincoln," what comes to mind? You might think first of the famous Lincoln Memorial, which has a prominent place on the National Mall in Washington and is featured on the back of the five dollar bill. But there are many other statues that pay tribute to the sixteenth president of the United States, each in their own way.
At the end of the Civil War, over four million enslaved Americans gained their freedom. Today, we can still hear 26 of them speak to us in their own words, with their own voices.
"O, fatal day. O, noble victim. Treason has done its worst. The President has been assassinated." This hand-written diary entry, dated half past 10 o'clock PM, April 14, 1865, concludes simply, "I have just come from near the scene, it is too True."