News of Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse , Virginia , reached Indianapolis at 11 p.m. on April 9 , 1865 , causing wild , public celebrations that the '' Indianapolis Journal '' characterized as " demented . " The celebrations soon turned to sadness when news of the assassination of President Lincoln arrived on April 15 . Lincoln 's funeral train passed through the city on April 30 , en route to Springfield , Illinois . An estimated 100,000 people waited in long lines to pass Lincoln 's bier at the Indiana Statehouse , where the president 's remains lay in state
assassination of President Lincoln
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Indianapolis in the American Civil War