Lincoln assassination artifacts reunited at Ford’s Theater

A large photograph depicting President Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth is displayed next to the bunting flag hung from the presidential box at the historic Ford's Theatre at a new exhibit entitled "Silent Witnesses: Artifacts of the Lincoln Assassination" Tuesday, March 17, 2015, at the Ford's Center for Education and Leadership in Washington. The exhibit is open to the public March 23rd to May 25th and coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln assassination on April 14th. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

By Associated Press March 17, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Beyond his famous words, the artifacts President Abraham Lincoln left behind after his assassination were scattered for decades from Washington to Chicago.

Now for the first time since 1865, curators have brought together most of the artifacts from the night the 16th president was shot at Ford’s Theatre just blocks from the White House.

A new exhibition, “Silent Witnesses: Artifacts of the Lincoln Assassination,” will be open next Monday through May 25 at the theater’s campus. Curators say it will give an unprecedented look at Lincoln’s death in April 1865 by retracing his final night.

The artifacts come from the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Chicago History Museum and other sites.