By H. B. Auld, Jr.

One hundred and fifty-nine years ago today on April 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln dreamed of his own death, seeing himself laying in a casket. The same dream repeated two more nights. Ten days after his first dream, actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated the sixteenth President at Ford’s Theater. President Lincoln lingered on through that night, then died at 7:22 the next morning, April 15, 1865, in a boarding house across the street from Ford’s Theater.

Lincoln prophetically said: “If I am killed, I can die but once; but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again.”

When he left for Ford’s Theater that Friday night, he told his body guard, William H. Crook, about the dreams. Then, he wished Crook “Good-bye” instead of his normal “Good night.”

May President Abraham Lincoln Rest In Peace for the ages.

---