The North celebrated Lee's surrender and the end of the war. On April 14, Good Friday, John Wilkes Booth learned that President Lincoln, General Grant and others were to attend a play at the Ford theater. The Grants decided not to attend and left Washington for Philadelphia. Booth shot the President in the back of the head, and Lincoln died the next day at 7:22 a.m. The news flashed across the country via the telegraph and celebration turned to sorrow. In July of that year, eight of Booth's co-conspirators were found guilty and four of them were hanged.
Scattered fighting continued into May, but on May 23 a victory parade was held in Washington. Those who survived the war returned home and resumed their lives.
Sherman was frequently sought as a political candidate bur flatly refused to serve in any capacity. Sheridan remained in the army and was active in the Indian wars that followed.
In the South, Jefferson Davis was vilified as the true villain of the war and spent two years in custody, but was never convicted and soon released. Robert E. Lee maintained a low profile, becoming a college president.
U.S. Grant served two terms as President of the United States, but his time in office was marred by scandal and corruption.

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