President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865. After a week of viewings, Lincoln’s body was carried by train to Springfield, Illinois, passing 180 cities in seven states. The train also carried the coffin of Lincoln’s son Willie. In 10 towns, Lincoln’s coffin was taken off the train for public viewing. Lincoln was the first American president whose body was carried by a funeral train.
On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. The president was driven across the street to a boarding house, where he died the next morning. After a week of viewings in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol, a train carried Lincoln’s body home to Springfield, Illinois, for burial. The train passed 180 cities in seven states along the way, and it’s been estimated that more than seven million Americans saw the hearse train on its journey to Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The solemn homecoming:
The train, dubbed “The Lincoln Special,” also carried the coffin of Lincoln’s son Willie, who had died three years earlier. Abraham Lincoln’s widow, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, wanted both to be buried in the family vault.
In 10 towns along the route, Lincoln’s coffin was taken off the train and carried into a public building, so that citizens could see Lincoln at rest. Some waited more than five hours to say their last goodbyes.
Lincoln was the first American president whose body was carried by a funeral train. In the years since, seven other presidents have traveled by train to their final resting places, including George HW Bush in 2018.
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