The Legacy of April: 1865 & 1869; Laura Keene, The Collingwood Opera House, the end of the Civil War & Today

By Bill Kleppel

Collingwood Theatre, Poughkeepsie; April 14^th 1869

On April 14, 1869, the Poughkeepsie Eagle reviewed the performance of “Our American Cousin,” which played at Poughkeepsie’s Collingwood Theatre the previous night. The new venue had been in existence for less than three months (and is still in existence as the Bardavon!). Getting Laura Keene and her group of actors booked for a three-night stay was a sensation, and excitement abounded!

Mark Twain would visit later in the year, but in this moment, the plays of Laura Keene represented fine entertainment, and the Poughkeepsie community was proud for her to grace their stage.

“The principal performers were well supported, and the entire play, from beginning to end, was of universal satisfaction,” proclaimed the reviewer.

This was to be expected from Keene’s company of performers. She was one of the pre-eminent actresses and theatre producers in the country.

…Unfortunately for Laura, it didn’t matter how exemplary her work was, or of her fellow acting troupe.  Her name would be forever affixed to a tragic moment in time, seared into the annals of American history.

In April of 1869, the nation was only four years removed from the most tumultuous two months it had ever experienced, before or since.

1865

Washington D.C.; March 5, 1865

In March of 1865, Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office for a second term as president. He’d won re-election over General George McLellan in November of 1864. His victory was helped by battles won by the Union Army, led by Generals Sherman and Grant. Members of the 150^th New York Infantry, mostly comprised of soldiers from Dutchess County (and Poughkeepsie in particular) were involved in these campaigns.

Appomattox County Courthouse, Virginia; April 9, 1865

On April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee, General of The Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox County Courthouse in Virginia. This essentially ended the Confederate States of America’s attempted secession from the United States.

Within the four years that the Civil War raged, approximately seven percent of the adult male population (and two percent of the entire population) had died. Over 660,000 people lost their lives for the Union to be saved, and for slavery to be eradicated.

If the same percentages were applied today, it would account for over seven million people.

Washington, D.C.; April 14^th, 1865 

Laura Keene was backstage at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Her acting troupe was presenting “Our American Cousin,” with President Lincoln in attendance. Lincoln arrived slightly late. Keene interrupted the play in order for the orchestra to play “Hail to the Chief” as he made his entrance and climbed the stairs to the theatre’s Presidential Suite.

Later, while she was preparing for her next scene during the final third act of the play, Laura heard what sounded like a gunshot. She immediately thought it was mistakenly caused by a stagehand. The actor she knew as John Wilkes Booth, not a member of the play, pushed by her and ran toward the back door, exiting the theater. 

She then saw Major Henry Rathbone, a guest of the president, covered in blood. Booth had stabbed him, but Rathbone was still in pursuit. 

Laura reached the stage, looked above and to her left. The First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, was screaming.

Someone had shot the president.

Washington, D.C.; April 14-15, 1865

After Lincoln was shot, Laura Keene stepped to the middle of the stage. She pleaded for the crowd to remain calm, and not to panic.

“For God’s sake, have presence of mind, and keep your places, and all will be well.” 

She proceeded to the Presidential Box. The president was lying on the floor. A shocked Mary Todd was seated on a couch. Keene, with the permission of a doctor, cradled the president’s head until the decision was made to move him to a bed at the Petersen House across the street from Ford’s Theater. He died the next day, April 15.

Poughkeepsie, NY; April 25, 1865

After the presidents body lay in state in Washington, D.C., from April 19-21, it began its long railway procession back to Springfield, Illinois. It stopped at the Poughkeepsie Train Station on April 25. Local dignitaries’ wives were able to enter the funeral car to lay wreaths on the presidents coffin. Thousands of bystanders stood beside the tracks “with uncovered heads.”

During the train stoppage, the Eastman College Band played a dirge. In fact, the Eastman College Band began its journey with the funeral train in New York City, and continued its travels until disembarking in Springfield.

Port Royal, Virginia; April 26, 1865

After a countrywide manhunt, John Wilkes Booth was cornered inside of a barn at the Garrett Farm near Port Royal, Virginia.

His co-conspirator, David Herold, surrendered to Union soldiers who had surrounded the structure. After Booth’s reluctance to give himself up, the posse lit the barn on fire. It appeared to Sergeant Boston Corbett that Booth was reaching for a gun, so he fired his own. His bullet entered Booth’s neck and severed his spinal cord. He was pulled from the burning building and onto the porch of the Garrett Farmhouse, where he died a few hours later.

1869

…Back in Poughkeepsie; April 15, 1869

Laura Keene’s tour stop at the Collingwood came to a close. The caravan of actors was on to Utica, New York, for some more performances.

Laura had been born as Mary Frances Moss in London, England, in 1826. She made her acting debut in a production of Romeo & Juliet in South London in 1851. During those years, she would marry twice, and tour the world as an accomplished actress (including a trip to Australia with John Wilkes Booth’s brother, Edwin Booth).

Along with her second husband, John Lutz, Laura opened and managed Laura Keene’s Theater in lower Manhattan. She had reached the pinnacle of a career that had spanned close to two decades. Her efforts should be given more historical notice, considering her accomplishments in professions where woman were rarely given the opportunity to achieve such success.

For all of her amazing experiences, Laura couldn’t have expected what would happen just a few days after her resounding performances in Poughkeepsie.

Soon after Laura’s engagement at the Collingwood, she received notice that her husband, John Lutz, died on Sunday, April, 18, 1869, in Washington, D.C., of pulmonary tuberculosis. Devastated, Laura returned to D.C. before her acting troupe was able to take the stage in Utica.

Laura Keene carried on. However, financial difficulties after her husband’s death led to the loss of her theatre. She died of a stroke at her home in Montclair, New Jersey, in November of 1873.

References

• “Collingwood Opera House: Attraction Extraordinary!” Com, The Poughkeepsie Eagle, 14 Apr. 1869, www.newspapers.com/image/114216015/?
• “Laura Keene.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/laura-keene.htm. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
• “The War.” Com, The Poughkeepsie Eagle, 6 Mar. 1865, www.newspapers.com/image/115132499/?
• Milburn, Andy. “Ten Important US Presidential Inaugurations – and One That Went Wrong.” Sky News, Sky, 20 Jan. 2017, news.sky.com/story/ten-important-us-presidential-inaugurations-and-one-that-went-wrong-10721126.
• “God Has Saved The Union.” Com, The Poughkeepsie Eagle, 10 Apr. 1865, www.newspapers.com/image/115132695/?
• “Awful News!” Com, Poughkeepsie Eagle News, 15 Apr. 1865, www.newspapers.com/image/115132735/?
• “Important!” Com, The Poughkeepsie Eagle, 28 Apr.1865, www.newspapers.com/image/115132830/?
• “Death of Laura Keene’s Husband.” Com, The Cleveland Evening Post, 22 Apr. 1869, www.newspapers.com/image/1075341179/.
• “Where Was Laura Keene’s Theatre? – Village Preservation.” Village Preservation – Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, 6 Jan. 2021, www.villagepreservation.org/2015/05/27/where-was-laura-keenes-theatre/.