April's History

Appeared in Grand Forks Daily Herald out of Grand Forks, North Dakota on April 16 1898 

APRIL IN AMERICAN HISTORY

April is an eventful month in American history. Thirty-seven years ago, two days after the firing of the shot that initiated the bloody battles of our civil war. Fort Sumpter surrendered. Thirty-three years ago Abraham Lincoln, who exhausted every honorable means to avert that conflict, and whose statesmanship saved the republic, was assassinated. The fatal shot was fired on the night of April 14 and death ensued on the following day.

April witnessed both the beginning and the end of the war of the rebellion: Sumter was fired upon on April 12, 1861, and Lee surrendered to Grant April 9, 1865. The same is true of the revolutionary war; the battle of Lexington was fought on April 19, 1775, and the preliminary treaty of peace with Great Britain was ratified by congress on April 15, 1783. The Mexican war began in the same month, the first battle being fought on April 23, 1846.

Three momentous events in our earlier history have their dates in the month of April; the first congress met on April 6, George Washington was inaugurated president on April 30 of the same year and the navy department was organized on April 30, 1798. It was on the last day of April, 1803, that the treaty was made with France for our purchase of Louisiana.

The necrology of the month is too voluminous to be considered, but from the list of earth’s greatest who died in April may be singled out the name of Benjamin Franklin, philosopher, statesman, scientist, patriot and father of the printing craft.

As a natal month of historic events April has a fruitful record, and at the rate we are now making history the April of 1898 will contain many important additions. –Chicago Times Herald.