By Professor William B. Gould IV
By Professor William B. Gould IV |
| Order from the
Portuguese Government regarding the funeral rites for President Lincoln.
On May 8, the Portuguese government expresses its condolences to the United States for the assassination of President Lincoln and orders its fleet in Lisbon harbor to mark the occasion by accompanying the Niagara: "The Secretary of Affairs of the Portuguese Navy is to instruct the Major General of the Fleet to order the ships of the Navy, located actually in the Tejo, to follow the funeral rites for President Lincoln on the American Frigate Niagara by strictly observing the same procedures that are made by the Navy ships of her Britannic Majesty, now anchored in this harbor." Translation by Osvaldo Agripino de Castro Jr., Visiting Scholar, Stanford Law School, 2000. (Courtesy of Biblioteca Central da Marinha, Lisbon) |