page_title: Frederick Aiken
section_title: Later life
hierarchical_section_title: Frederick Aiken / Later life
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a photo taken at the ceremony for the gravestone of Frederick A. Aiken. It was taken at Oak Hill Cemetery. Previously his grave was unmarked, but the Surratt Society raised the funds for his gravestone. The ceremony was June 14, 2012.
context_page_description: Frederick Augustus Aiken was an American lawyer, journalist and soldier. A veteran of the Civil War, Aiken was called on to serve as one of the defense attorneys for Mary Surratt, who was tried for conspiracy in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
context_section_description: Aiken and Clampitt's law practice dissolved in 1866, likely as a result of the backlash of the trial. The New York Times reported that Aiken was arrested in June 1866 when he cashed a check with a merchant but did not have the funds to cover the amount. His obituary stated that he had also been tapped to serve as defense counsel for Jefferson Davis, but the former Confederate President was eventually released without trial. In 1868, Aiken returned to journalism, and served as the first city editor of the Washington Post.
  Aiken died in Washington on December 23, 1878, as a result of heart-related illness, possibly resulting from wounds he incurred during the war. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, where his grave was originally unmarked. However, the Surratt Society of Clinton, Maryland (the town formerly known as Surrattsville) conducted a campaign to raise funds to place a tombstone on the unmarked grave. On June 14, 2012, a gravestone was placed at the site, in a dedication ceremony attended by descendants of Aiken's family.
caption: The new gravestone for Frederick Aiken
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