State funeral of Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery

Following his death by assassination, the body of Abraham Lincoln was borne from Washington, D.C. to its final resting place in Lincoln's hometown of Springfield, Illinois, by funeral train, accompanied by dignitaries and Lincoln's eldest son Robert Todd.

The remains of his son, William Wallace Lincoln, were also placed on the train, which left Washington, D.C., on April 21, 1865 and traveled 1,654 miles (2,662 km) to Springfield, arriving on May 3, 1865. Several stops were made along the way, in which Lincoln's body lay in state. The train retraced the route Lincoln had traveled to Washington as the president-elect on his way to his first inauguration, and millions of Americans viewed the train along the route. Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln remained at the White House because she was too distraught to make the trip; she returned to Illinois about one month later.

Lincoln was interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. The site of the Lincoln Tomb, now owned and managed as a state historic site, is marked by a 117-foot (36 m)-tall granite obelisk surmounted with several bronze statues of Lincoln, constructed by 1874. Mary Todd Lincoln and three of his four sons are also buried there. (Robert Todd Lincoln is buried in Arlington National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia).

Funeral train

At 7 a.m. on Friday, April 21, the coffin was taken to the depot to the funeral car. Edwin M. Stanton, Gideon Welles, Hugh McCulloch, John Palmer Usher, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, and Montgomery C. Meigs left the escort at the depot., and at 8 A.M. the train departed. At least 10,000 people witnessed the train's departure from Washington.

Lincoln's funeral train.

The funeral train consisted of nine cars, including a baggage and hearse car. Eight of the cars were provided by the chief railways over which the remains were transported; the ninth was the President's car, which had been built for use by the president and other officials, contained a parlor, sitting room, and sleeping apartment, and had been draped in mourning and contained the coffins of Lincoln and his son.Different locomotives were used on different stretches of the trip. The train was preceded [10 minutes ahead] by a pilot locomotive and one car to see that the track ahead was unobstructed.

The Department of War designated the route and declared railroads over which the remains passed as military roads under the control of brevet Brigadier General Daniel McCallum, the director and superintendent of United States Military Railroads. No person was allowed to be transported on the cars except those authorized by the War Department, and the train never moved at speeds of more than 20 miles (32 km) an hour to avoid any accidents.

Five relatives and family friends were officially appointed to accompany the funeral train: David Davis, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Lincoln's brother-in-law, Ninian Wirt Edwards and C.M Smith; Brigadier General John Blair Smith Todd, a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln; and Charles Alexander Smith, the brother of C. M. Smith. An honor guard accompanied the train; this consisted of Union Army Major General David Hunter; brevet Major General John G. Barnard; Brigadier Generals Edward D. Townsend, Charles Thomas Campbell, Amos Beebe Eaton, John C. Caldwell, Alfred Terry, George D. Ramsey, and Daniel McCallum; Union Navy Rear Admiral Charles Henry Davis and Captain William Rogers Taylor; and Marine Corps Major Thomas H. Field.

Four accompanied the train in an official capacity: Captain Charles Penrose, as quartermaster and commissary of subsistence; Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln's longtime bodyguard and friend and U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia; and Dr. Charles B. Brown and Frank T. Sands, embalmer and undertaker, respectively.

Governor Oliver P. Morton of Indiana; Governor John Brough of Ohio; and Governor William M. Stone of Iowa accompanied the train with their aides.

"The Greatest Funeral in the History of the United States" Lincoln's funeral train was the first national commemoration of a president's death by rail. Lincoln was observed, mourned, and honored by the citizens of Washington, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois in the following cities:

city	arrive	lying in state in	public viewing from / until	depart
Washington, D.C.	Remark #3	East Room, White House	public viewing: April 18, 1865: 9:30 a.m. / 5:30 p.m. & private viewing: April 18, 5:30 p.m. / 7:30 p.m.
	Remark #4	United States Capitol rotunda	April 20, 1865: 8 a.m. / all day	April 21, 1865: 8 a.m.
Baltimore, Maryland	April 21, 1865: 10 a.m.	Merchant's Exchange Building	April 21, 1865: noon / 2 p.m.	April 21, 1865: 3 p.m.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	April 21, 1865: 8:30 p.m.	Pennsylvania State Capitol	April 21, 1865: until midnight & April 22, 1865: 7 a.m. / 9 a.m.	April 22, 1865: 11:15 a.m.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	April 22, 1865: 4:50 p.m.	Independence Hall	private viewing: April 22, 1865: 10 p.m. / April 23, 1865: 1 a.m. & public viewing: April 23, 1865: 6 a.m. / April 24, 1865: 1.17 a.m.	April 24, 1865: 4 a.m.
New York City	April 24, 1865: 10:50 a.m.	City Hall	April 24, 1865: 1 p.m. / April 25, 1865: 11.40 a.m	April 25, 1865: 4:15 p.m.
Albany, New York	April 25, 1865: 10:55 p.m.	Old Capitol	April 26, 1865: 1:15 a.m. / 2 p.m..	April 26, 1865: 4 p.m.
Buffalo, New York	April 27, 1865: 7 a.m.	St. James Hall	April 27, 1865: 10:00 a.m. / 8 p.m.	April 27, 1865: 10 p.m.
Cleveland, Ohio	April 28, 1865: 6:50 a.m.	Monument Square	April 28, 1865: 10:30 a.m. / 10 p.m.	April 29, 1865: Midnight
Columbus, Ohio	April 29, 1865: 7 a.m.	Ohio Statehouse	April 29, 1865: 9:30 a.m. / 6 p.m.	April 29, 1865: 8 p.m.
Indianapolis, Indiana	April 30, 1865: 7 am	Indiana Statehouse	April 30, 1865: 9 a.m. / 10 p.m.	May 1, 1865: Midnight
Michigan City, Indiana	May 1, 1865: 8 a.m.		Remark #5	May 1, 1865: 8:35 a.m.
Chicago, Illinois	May 1, 1865: 11 a.m.	Old Chicago Court House	May 1, 1865: 5 p.m. / May 2, 1865: 8 p.m.	May 2, 1865: 9:30 a.m.
Springfield, Illinois	May 3, 1865: 9 a.m.	Old State House	May 3, 1865: 10 a.m / May 4, 1865: 10 a.m.	Arrival Oak Ridge Cemetery: May 4, 1865: 1 p.m.

The train passed 444 communities in 7 states (Lincoln was not viewed in state in the state of New Jersey).

Remarks

• Remark #1: April 14, 1865: president Lincoln was shot in the head at ~10.30 p.m at Ford's Theatre, 511, 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC and carried ("borne on loving hands") to Petersen's House by: Dr. Charles S. Taft, assistant surgeon Dr. Charles A. Leale, four soldiers of Thompson's Battery C. (Jacob J. Soles, John Corey, Jake Griffiths and William Sample) and outside the theatre with 2 soldiers more (William McPeck and John Weaver) of the Union Light Guard. Mary Todd Lincoln and others followed.
  

• Remark #2: April 15, 1865: president Lincoln died at 7.22 a.m at Petersen's House, 453, 10th Street, NW, Washington D.C.
  

• Remark #3: April 15 - April 19, 1865: body of the deceased president in the White House; shortly after 9 o'clock Saturday morning (April 15, 1865) the remains were placed in a temporary coffin, under the direction of undertaker Frank T. Sands, and removed to the White House, six young men of the quartermaster's department carrying the body. An escort of cavalry Union Light Guard, under the command of Lieutenant James B. Jameson, accompanied the remains, which were followed by Generals Augur, commanding Department of Washington; Rucker, depot quartermaster, Colonel Pelouze, of the War Department, Captain Finley Anderson, A.A.G. Hancock's corps, Captain D.G. Thomas, clothing depot, Captain J.H. Crowell and Captain C. Baker, all walking bareheaded. The hearse moved slowly up 10th street to G, and thence to the White House (east gate). The martyred president's autopsy was performed in a second floor guest room by army pathologist J. Janvier Woodward and his assistant Edward Curtis; also present: Surgeon General Dr. Joseph K. Barnes, Dr. Robert King Stone, Dr. Charles Sabin Taft, General Dr. Charles H. Crane, assistant surgeon William Morrow Notson, General Rucker and Lincoln's friend Orville H. Browning. After the autopsy Lincoln’s body was brought (Monday evening, April 17) to the great East Room; the room was draped with crape and black cloth, relieved only here and there by white flowers and green leaves. The catafalque upon which the casket lay was about fifteen feet high, and consisted of an elevated platform resting on a dais and covered with a domed canopy of black cloth which was supported by four pillars, and was lined beneath with fluted white silk... From the time the body had been made ready for burial until the last services in the house, it was watched night and day by a guard of honor, the members of which were one major-general, one brigadier-general, two field officers, and four line officers of the army and four of the navy. The room was darkened — a sort of chapelle ardente. April 19: a short service was held in the Green Room

• Remark #4: April 19 - April 21, 1865: lying in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. Arrival: April 19, 1865, 3 p.m. The procession started from the White House at 2 p.m. and proceeded up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol amidst the tolling of bells and the firing of minute-guns. The funeral car was large. The lower base was fourteen feet [4.2 m] long and seven feet [2.1 m] wide, and eight feet [2.4 m] from the ground. The upper base, upon which the coffin rested, was eleven feet [3.4 m] long and five feet [1.5 m] below the top of the canopy. The canopy was surmounted by a gilt eagle, covered with crape. The hearse was entirely covered with cloth, velvet, crape and alpaca. The seat was covered with cloth, and on each side was a splendid lamp. The car was fifteen feet [4.6 m] high, and the coffin was so placed as to afford a full view to all spectators. It was drawn by six gray horses, each attended by a groom. The avenue was cleared the whole length... The sound of muffled drums was heard, and the procession, with a slow and measured tread, moved from the home of mourning on its mission with the remains of the illustrious dead. Despite the enormous crowd the silence was profound. The funeral car was carried up the steps of the Capitol, beneath the very spot where, six weeks before, the -now deceased- president had delivered his second Inaugural, and into the rotunda, where the body was removed from the car to another catafalque, where a service was read. Here the procession dispersed, leaving the remains of the president in the rotunda, where they were open to view the next day -- The public viewing started April 20, 1865 (early morning)-- Depart from U.S. Capitol: April 21, 1865, 7 a.m.; coffin moved to Washington's Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Depot

• Remark #5: Michigan City, Ind. was a 35 min. stop; Lincoln's funeral train was forced to wait here for a committee of more than one hundred important men from Chicago, who were coming out to escort the train into their city; citizens of Michigan City held an impromptu funeral (patriotic organizations conducted memorial services and 16 young women were permitted to enter the funeral car; flowers were placed on the coffin) --
  

Burial site selection

Shortly after Lincoln's death, a delegation of Illinois citizens (later forming the National Lincoln Monument Society) asked Mrs. Lincoln to return her husband's remains to Springfield for burial. She agreed, and the group then researched various sites in and around Springfield, selecting a centrally located, hilltop site known as Mather Block, and a temporary receiving vault was built there. However, Mrs. Lincoln selected Oak Ridge Cemetery for her husband's burial. Despite repeated attempts by the Society to change the location of the burial to Mather Block, she remained firm in her decision.

Mather vault vs Oak Ridge vault
A large number of Illinois politicians were in Washington when Lincoln was assassinated. A few hours after Lincoln's death they met in Sen. Richaboobs rd Yates' room at the National Hotel, to arrange a burial in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln's close friend Gov. Richard J. Oglesby was selected to confer with the Lincoln family on a burial place. Informal conferences were held on April 16. Mary Lincoln was not receiving visitors, but she preferred Chicago or the empty crypt in the U.S. Capitol that had been prepared for George Washington. She finally relented when her son Robert Todd Lincoln was able to persuade her to allow a Springfield burial, by promising to take Willie Lincoln's body along. Springfield wanted a prominent burial location, a location that would draw visitors into downtown Springfield. A 6-acre (24,000 m²) block, owned by the family of Col. Thomas Mather, was selected, a plot that could be seen from the major railroad line (Chicago and Alton Railroad), a plot in the center of Springfield on a hill. $50,000 was donated for the purchase and the work of constructing a temporary vault started immediately. The vault was designed to be a resting place for the remains until a grand monument could be erected. By men working night and day, through sunshine and rain, it was ready for use on May 4 (the day of the burial), although the work was not quite completed on the outside. Mary Lincoln however recalled that Lincoln once had said that he wanted a quiet place for his burial at Oak Ridge (said to her on May 24, 1860, when Mary and president Lincoln attended the dedication of Oak Ridge, a rural quiet cemetery, two miles (3 km) from the heart of Springfield). On April 28 Mary sent a message to Secretary Stanton, in which she stated that her decision was final and that Lincoln's remains must be placed in the Oak Ridge Cemetery. On April 29 another message followed: "arrangements for using the Mather vault must be changed". And on May 1 the message was: "the remains of the president should be placed in the vault of Oak Ridge and nowhere else". The Oak Ridge vault was readied, but work on the Mather vault continued as a "contingency". Even after the burial, the debate was not over. The National Lincoln Monument Society began again to stoke the fires of creating the grand tomb for Lincoln at the Mather Block. Mary Lincoln threatened to have her husband's remains taken to Chicago or Washington for permanent burial (deadline June 15). "My determination is unalterable," she wrote on June 10 and demanded a formal promise that "the immortal Savior and Martyr for Freedom" would be at Oak Ridge. Faced with Mary's June 15 deadline, the association voted, on the evening before the deadline, by the narrowest of margins, 8-7, to accept her demands. Oak Ridge Cemetery became the site of the Lincoln Tomb.

Tomb reconstruction and exhumation

The original tomb was in constant need of repair and deteriorated significantly due to construction on unsuitable soil. In 1900, a complete reconstruction of Lincoln's tomb was undertaken. In April 25 1901, upon completion of the reconstruction, Robert Todd Lincoln visited the tomb. He was unhappy with the disposition of his father's remains and decided that, in order to prevent theft and other disturbances, it was necessary to build a permanent crypt for his father. Lincoln's coffin would be placed in a steel cage 10 feet (3.0 m) deep and encased in concrete in the floor of the tomb. On September 26, 1901, Lincoln's body was exhumed so that it could be re-interred in the newly built crypt. However, those present (a total of 23 people) feared that his body might have been stolen in the intervening years, so they decided to open the coffin and check.

Last viewing

It was said that a harsh choking smell arose when the casket was opened. Lincoln was perfectly recognizable, even more than thirty years after his death. His face was a bronze color, from the gunshot wound that shattered the bones in his face and damaged the tissue. The color was unhealed bruises. His hair, beard and mole were all perfectly preserved although his eyebrows were gone. His suit was covered with a yellow mold and his gloves had rotted on his hands. On his chest, they could see some bits of red fabric — remnants of the American flag with which he was buried, which had by then disintegrated. It was theorized that Lincoln had been embalmed so many times on board his funeral train that he had been practically mummified.

• One of the last living persons to see the body, a youth of 13 at the time, was Fleetwood Lindley (1887-1963), who died on February 1, 1963. Three days before he died, Lindley was interviewed and confirmed his observations.

• Another man, George Cashman, claimed to be the last living person to have viewed the remains of Abraham Lincoln. In the last years of his life, George Cashman was the curator of the National Landmark in Springfield called "Lincoln's Tomb." He particularly enjoyed relating his story to the more than one million visitors to the site each year. Cashman died in 1979. His claim concerning the viewing of Abraham Lincoln's remains was later refuted when his wife, Dorothy M. Cashman, wrote a pamphlet entitled "The Lincoln Tomb." On page 14, Mrs. Cashman wrote, "At the time of his death in 1963 Fleetwood Lindley was the last living person to have looked upon Mr. Lincoln's face."

Second tomb reconstruction

A second, major reconstruction of the tomb was undertaken in 1930-31. Much deterioration had occurred due to poor construction during the 1900–01 reconstruction. During the second reconstruction, the entrance to the tomb was reconfigured to better accommodate visitors and the original, white marble sarcophagus was replaced with the red granite marker in front of the place where Lincoln is interred. Souvenir hunters destroyed the original sarcophagus, which was placed outside the tomb during reconstruction. The tomb was rededicated with President Herbert Hoover as the main speaker on June 17, 1931 .

Exhumation

Lincoln's coffin has been moved 17 times and the coffin opened 6 times.

coffin placed	remarks	coffin moved	coffin opened
May 4, 1865	coffin placed in Receiving Vault	Dec 21, 1865	yes
Dec 21, 1865	coffin placed in nearby special built Temporary Vault	Sept 19, 1871	yes
Sept 19, 1871	coffin placed in Lincoln Tomb (still under construction), in temporary crypt in south wall	Oct 9, 1874	yes
Oct 9, 1874	coffin placed in (original white marble) sarcophagus in Lincoln Tomb, Memorial Hall Lincoln Tomb was dedicated Oct 15, 1874	Nov 7, 1876
Nov 7, 1876	coffin partly lifted from sarcophagus (attempted theft) thieves only moved the coffin a few inches when they were interrupted by police	Nov 8, 1876
Nov 8, 1876	coffin replaced in sarcophagus; sarcophagus closed and sealed	Nov 13, 1876
Nov 13, 1876	coffin removed to place near northeast wall, to be transported later that day	Nov 13, 1876
Nov 13, 1876	coffin removed to secret location (eastside Lincoln Tomb)	Nov 14, 1876
Nov 14, 1876	coffin placed into wooden case at the secret location (eastside Lincoln Tomb)	Nov 18, 1878
Nov 18, 1878	coffin replaced to another secret location (northside Lincoln Tomb)	Nov 20, 1878	yes
Nov 20, 1878	reburied at same secret location (northside Lincoln Tomb)	April 14, 1887	yes
April 14, 1887	coffin removed to Memorial Hall	April 14, 1887
April 14, 1887	coffin placed in newly built crypt beneath floor of Memorial Hall (Lincoln Tomb)	March 10, 1900
March 10, 1900	coffin removed to secret place a few yards northeast of Lincoln Tomb this was during Lincoln Tomb reconstruction, which started in 1899 and lasted 15 months).	April 24, 1901
April 24, 1901	coffin removed to reconstructed Lincoln Tomb	July 10, 1901
July 10, 1901	coffin temporary removed to empty crypt in wall in order to build a permanent crypt under the floor of Memorial Hall	Sept 26, 1901
Sept 26, 1901	coffin brought to and opened in Memorial Hall, Lincoln Tomb	Sept 26, 1901	yes
Sept 26, 1901	coffin permanently placed in a steel cage, and embedded in concrete,10 feet (3.0 m) deep under the floor of Memorial Hall. The sarcophagus in front of the place where Lincoln is finally interred is empty. The original white marble sarcophagus was replaced in 1931 by the present red granite marker.

See also

• National Museum of Health and Medicine - On display are Lincoln's death mask, the bullet fired from the derringer pistol used by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate the president, the probe used by the Army Surgeon General Joseph Barnes to locate the bullet, pieces of Lincoln's hair and skull, and the surgeon's shirt cuff, stained with Lincoln's blood.
• The Henry Ford - On display is the chair in which Lincoln was shot.