In Action A Sad and Terrible Disaster

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Complete the assignment as directed by your teacher

Today visitors can take a ferry ride from Coltons Point, MD to St. Clement's Island (previously Blackstone Island) near where the collision between the Black Diamond and the Massachusetts took...

Today visitors can take a ferry ride from Coltons Point, MD to St. Clement's Island (previously Blackstone Island) near where the collision between the Black Diamond and the Massachusetts took place. There is currently no mention of the event on the island’s historical markers nor in the mainland museum. However, the St. Mary’s County, MD Recreation and Parks Department wishes to place a marker on the island in the future. Propose a design for a historical marker which informs the public about the disaster and remembers Carroll, Farley, Gosnell, and Huntington’s role in the government’s manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. Describe what your marker would look like and what it would say. Make sure your text includes what happened, when it happened, and the event’s significance.

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Create a interactive timeline of the events of April 1865 using TimelineJS or a similar program. Include 10-20 of the most...

Create a interactive timeline of the events of April 1865 using TimelineJS or a similar program. Include 10-20 of the most important events such as the conclusion of the Civil War, Lincoln’s assassination, key moments in Booth’s escape and capture, and the steamboat collision between the Black Diamond and the Massachusetts. Be sure to use a primary source (document or image) as the “media” required to create each event.

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Sources

Chesapeake And Ohio Railway Company Map showing Alexandria and City Point Virginia

Image of newspaper article, <i>Evening Star</i>, February 1, 1865

Image of newspaper article, <i>Evening Star</i>, February 20, 1865

Chesapeake And Ohio Railway Company, Map showing the location of battle fields of Virginia: compiled from official war records and maps for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co, with labels added, Chicago: Poole Bros, 1902, Library of Congress.

“River News,” Evening Star, February 1, 1865, 2, Library of Congress.

“River News,” Evening Star, February 20, 1865, 2, Library of Congress.

Image of newspaper article, <i>Alexandria Gazette</i>, April 26, 1865

Image of newspaper article, <i>The New York Herald</i>, April 27, 1865

“Accident,” Alexandria Gazette, April 26, 1865, 3, Library of Congress.

“Terrible Collision on the Potomac,” The New York Herald, April 27, 1865, 1, Library of Congress.

Photograph of United States Fire Department in Alexandria, Virginia with steam fire engines out front, July 1863

Image of newspaper article, <i>Virginia State Journal</i>, May 11, 1865

Andrew J. Russell, Photograph, U.S. Fire Department, Alexandria, Va., with steam fire engines, July. Alexandria, Virginia, July 1863, Library of Congress.

“Depot Quartermaster’s Office,” Virginia State Journal, May 11, 1865, 3, Library of Virginia.

“Solemn Funeral Services,” Virginia State Journal, May 11, 1865, 3, Library of Virginia.

Image of newspaper article, <i>Alexandria Gazette</i>, November 11, 1865

Photograph of Booth Pursuers Monument at Alexandria National Cemetery

“A monument has been erected,” Alexandria Gazette, November 11, 1865, 3, Library of Congress.

"Booth Pursuers Monument," Photograph, Alexandria National Cemetery, 2018, RRCHNM.

To Learn More

Alford, Terry. Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth. (Oxford University Press, 2015)

“The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” Film, PBS: American Experience, aired February 2009

“Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln,” Library of Congress

"Lincoln's Assassination," Ford’s Theater

"Scenic Byways: Booth's Escape," State of Maryland

Swanson, James. Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. (Portrait, 2006)

“Who Was John Wilkes Booth Before He Became Lincoln's Assassin?” National Public Radio