Abraham Lincoln's burial and exhumation

Following his death by assassination, the body of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

was borne from Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

to its final resting place in Lincoln's hometown of Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

, by funeral train

Funeral train

A funeral train is a train specially chartered in order to carry a coffin or coffins to a resting place. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders and national heroes, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were sometimes the chief means of transporting coffins and mourners to...

, accompanied by dignitaries and Lincoln's eldest son Robert Todd

Robert Todd Lincoln

Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and Secretary of War, and the first son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln...

.

The remains of his son, William Wallace Lincoln

William Wallace Lincoln

William Wallace "Willie" Lincoln was the third son of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. He died at the age of 11. He was named after Mary's brother-in-law Dr. William Wallace.- Final illness and death :...

, were also placed on the train, which left Washington, D.C., on April 21, 1865 at 12:30 pm and traveled 1654 miles (2,661.8 km) to Springfield, arriving on May 3, 1865. Several stops were made along the way, in which Lincoln's body lay in state

Lying in state

Lying in state is a term used to describe the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased. It traditionally takes place in the principal government building of a country or city...

. The train retraced the route Lincoln had traveled to Washington as the president-elect

President-elect

An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...

on his way to his first inauguration, and millions of Americans viewed the train along the route. Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...

remained at the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

because she was too distraught to make the trip; she returned to Illinois about one month later.

Lincoln was interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery

Oak Ridge Cemetery

Oak Ridge Cemetery is a cemetery located in Springfield, Illinois in the United States.Lincoln's Tomb, which serves as the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of his children, is located at Oak Ridge...

in Springfield. The site of the Lincoln Tomb

Lincoln Tomb

Lincoln's Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois, is the final resting place of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and three of their four sons. The monument is owned and administered by the State of Illinois as Lincoln Tomb State...

, now owned and managed as a state historic site

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is tasked with the duty of maintaining most State-owned historic sites within Illinois, and maximizing their educational and recreational value to visitors....

, is marked by a 117 feet (35.7 m)-tall granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

obelisk

Obelisk

An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...

surmounted with several bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

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

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

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

Edwin M. Stanton

Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during the American Civil War from 1862–1865...

, Gideon Welles

Gideon Welles

Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...

, Hugh McCulloch

Hugh McCulloch

Hugh McCulloch was an American statesman who served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary, serving under three presidents.-Biography:...

, John Palmer Usher

John Palmer Usher

John Palmer Usher was a U.S. administrator who served in the Cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War....

, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

, and Montgomery C. Meigs

Montgomery C. Meigs

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, construction engineer for a number of facilities in Washington, D.C., and Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War....

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.

The funeral train consisted of nine cars, including a baggage and hearse

Hearse

A hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...

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

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

designated the route and declared railroads over which the remains passed as military roads under the control of brevet

Brevet

Brevet may refer to:* Brevet , a temporary authorization for a person to hold a higher rank* Brevet , a long-distance bicycle ride with check-point controls* Aircrew brevet, a Royal Air Force and British Army badge...

Brigadier General

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

Daniel McCallum

Daniel Craig McCallum was a railroad engineer and manager.McCallum was born in Scotland in 1815. In 1822 his family emigrated to New York when he was still a boy. In Rochester he spend a few years at elementary school, and didn't follow his fathers footsteps to become a tailor...

, the director and superintendent of United States Military Railroad

United States Military Railroad

The United States Military Railroad was an organization during the American Civil War that ran railroads for the Union Army wherever they were needed. It was established in 1862 under General Daniel McCallum.- Petersburg Campaign :...

s. 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 (32.2 km) an hour to avoid any accidents.

Five relatives and family friends were officially appointed to accompany the funeral train: David Davis

David Davis (Supreme Court justice)

David Davis was a United States Senator from Illinois and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. He also served as Abraham Lincoln's campaign manager at the 1860 Republican National Convention....

, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...

; Lincoln's brother-in-law, Ninian Wirt Edwards and C.M Smith; Brigadier General John Blair Smith Todd

John Blair Smith Todd

John Blair Smith Todd was a Delegate from Dakota Territory to the United States House of Representatives and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln; and Charles Alexander Smith, the brother of C. M. Smith. An honor guard

Honor guard

An honor guard, or ceremonial guard, is a ceremonial unit, usually military in nature and composed of volunteers who are carefully screened for their physical ability and dexterity...

accompanied the train; this consisted of Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

David Hunter

David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...

; brevet Major General John G. Barnard

John G. Barnard

John Gross Barnard was a career engineering officer in the U.S. Army, serving in the Mexican-American War, as the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy and as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...

; Brigadier Generals Edward D. Townsend

Edward D. Townsend

Edward Davis Townsend was Adjutant General of the United States Army from 1869 to 1880.The grandson of Vice President Elbridge Gerry, Townsend was educated at Boston's Latin School before graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1837. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the...

, Charles Thomas Campbell

Charles Thomas Campbell

Charles Thomas Campbell was an United States Army soldier, and a legislator, businessman, and town mayor...

, Amos Beebe Eaton

Amos Beebe Eaton

Amos Beebe Eaton was a career officer in the United States Army, serving as a general for the Union during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, John C. Caldwell

John C. Caldwell

John Curtis Caldwell was a teacher, a Union general in the American Civil War, and an American diplomat.-Early life:Caldwell was born in Lowell, Vermont...

, Alfred Terry

Alfred Terry

Alfred Howe Terry was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869 and again from 1872 to 1886.-Early life and career:...

, George D. Ramsey, and Daniel McCallum; Union Navy

Union Navy

The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral (United States)

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...

Charles Henry Davis

Charles Henry Davis was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, serving primarily during the American Civil War, and with the United States Coast Survey.-Early life and career:...

and Captain William Rogers Taylor

William Rogers Taylor

William Rogers Taylor was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Biography:...

; and Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

Major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

Thomas H. Field.

Four accompanied the train in an official capacity: Captain Charles Penrose, as quartermaster and commissary of subsistence; Ward Hill Lamon

Ward Hill Lamon

Ward Hill Lamon was a personal friend and self-appointed bodyguard of the American President Abraham Lincoln. Lamon was famously absent the night Lincoln was assassinated, having been sent by Lincoln to Richmond, Virginia....

, Lincoln's longtime bodyguard and friend and U.S. Marshal

United States Marshals Service

The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...

for the District of Columbia; and Dr. Charles B. Brown and Frank T. Sands, embalmer

Embalming

Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for public display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus sanitization, presentation and preservation of a corpse to achieve this...

and undertaker

Funeral director

A funeral director , also known as a mortician or undertaker, is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the planning and arrangement of the actual funeral ceremony...

, respectively.

Governor

Governor of Indiana

The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...

Oliver P. Morton of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

; Governor John Brough

John Brough

John Brough was a War Democrat politician from Ohio. He served as the 26th Governor of Ohio during the final years of the American Civil War, dying in office of gangrene shortly after the war concluded....

of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

; and Governor William M. Stone

William M. Stone

William Milo Stone was the sixth Governor of Iowa .- Biography :...

of Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

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

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Ohio

Ohio

, Indiana

Indiana

, and Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

in the following cities:

city	arrive	lying in state in	public viewing from / until	depart
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....	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 United States Capitol Rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...	April 20, 1865: 8 a.m. / all day	April 21, 1865: 8 a.m.
Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore... , Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...	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 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...	April 21, 1865: 8:30 p.m.	Pennsylvania State Capitol Pennsylvania State Capitol The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is in downtown Harrisburg. It was designed in 1902 in a Beaux-Arts style with Renaissance themes throughout...	April 21, 1865: until midnight & April 22, 1865: 7 a.m. / 9 a.m.	April 22, 1865: 11:15 a.m.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...	April 22, 1865: 4:50 p.m.	Independence Hall Independence Hall Independence Hall is the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets...	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 New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	April 24, 1865: 10:50 a.m.	City Hall New York City Hall New York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...	April 24, 1865: 1 p.m. / April 25, 1865: 11.40 a.m	April 25, 1865: 4:15 p.m.
Albany, New York Albany, New York Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...	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 Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...	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 Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...	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 Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...	April 29, 1865: 7 a.m.	Ohio Statehouse Ohio Statehouse The Ohio Statehouse, located in Columbus, Ohio, is the house of government for the state of Ohio. The Greek Revival building houses the Ohio General Assembly and the ceremonial offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, and Auditor....	April 29, 1865: 9:30 a.m. / 6 p.m.	April 29, 1865: 8 p.m.
Indianapolis Indianapolis Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S... , Indiana Indiana Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...	April 30, 1865: 7 am	Indiana Statehouse	April 30, 1865: 9 a.m. / 10 p.m.	May 1, 1865: Midnight
Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City's origins date to 1830, when the land for the city was first purchased by Isaac C. Elston. Elston Middle School, formerly Elston High School, located at 317 Detroit St., is named after the founder....	May 1, 1865: 8 a.m.		Remark #5	May 1, 1865: 8:35 a.m.
Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... , Illinois Illinois Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...	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 Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...	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. Richard 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 acres (24,281.2 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 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 – 1901 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

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

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.The mahogany outer coffin is replaced by a new iron casket.	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	Lincoln was dug up and reburied at same secret location (northside Lincoln Tomb) in response to an anonymous threat, received by the caretaker of the tomb via a postcard; Lincoln was indeed in the grave in which he was placed two days before	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 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.

Movements of other Lincoln caskets

On May 4, 1865 (Lincoln’s arrival at Oak Ridge Cemetery, 19 days after his death) another coffin, containing the body of Lincoln’s son William “Willie” Wallace Lincoln (12), was placed with Lincoln’s in the Receiving Vault. Willie, born Dec. 21, 1850, passed away Feb. 20, 1862 in the White House and was first interred (Feb 24, 1862) in the Carroll family tomb at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. The casket bearing his remains was carried to Springfield on the funeral train of the assassinated president.

On Dec 21, 1865 the two caskets were moved to the temporary vault, half-way up the hillside, where the Lincoln Tomb was in construction at the top of the hill. The body of Lincoln’s son Edward “Eddie” Baker Lincoln (3 years 10 months) was already placed there on Dec. 13, 1865. Eddie, born March 10, 1849, passed away Feb 1, 1850 and was first interred at the Hutchinson Cemetery, Illinois. The three bodies rested in the temporary vault while the Lincoln tomb was being built. The three bodies were moved to the catacomb of the tomb on Sept 19, 1871. They were not the first. Two months earlier (on July 17, 1871) it was Lincoln’s son Thomas (“Tad”) Lincoln, born April 4, 1853, who was the first Lincoln placed into a crypt in the Lincoln Tomb. Tad passed away July 15, 1871 in Chicago, aged 18.

Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, born December 13, 1818, passed away July 16, 1882. She was entombed July 19, 1882 in a public entombment in one of the family crypts in the Lincoln Tomb. In the night of July 21, 1882 Mary Todd’s casket was secretly taken from the crypt and at Robert Todd Lincoln's (her eldest son) request, buried alongside the President. On April 14, 1887 both caskets were moved to Memorial Hall.

Lincoln’s grandson Abraham Lincoln II (“Jack”), born Aug 14, 1873, died March 5, 1890 and was placed in one of the crypts in the Lincoln Tomb, until May 27, 1930 when he was re-interred at the family plot of his father, Robert Todd Lincoln (Aug 1, 1843 – July 25, 1926), at the Arlington National Cemetery, Va.

During the first Lincoln Tomb reconstruction (1900-1901) the Lincoln family was disinterred and moved to the temporary vault northeast of the Lincoln Tomb. On April 24, 1901 the Lincoln family was removed from the temporary vault and placed back into the Lincoln Tomb.

While President Lincoln was finally at rest, the remainder of the Lincoln family was moved two more times. The coffins containing the bodies of Mary, Eddie, Willie, and Tad Lincoln were removed during the second tomb reconstruction (1930-1931) from their crypts and transported to the Oak Ridge mausoleum, located near the south gate of the cemetery. After the second reconstruction was completed, the bodies were returned to their crypts (June 1931).

Funeral train

Burial site selection

Tomb reconstruction and exhumation

Last viewing

Second tomb reconstruction

Exhumation

Movements of other Lincoln caskets

See also