BACKTRACKING
Lincoln, Going Home
by Terry Hogan
Lincoln had a long history with the railroads,
mostly in Illinois. As a young Springfield attorney, he became to some degree
or another, a "corporate attorney" for the railroads, before, I
suppose, the term was invented. This isn't part of the popular Lincoln lore, as
it appears to conflict with our wishful image of him always being "one of
the people". Although most of
his railroad cases were representing the railroads, a few cases represented
folks involved with litigation against the railroad, but only a few. One of the
"perks" of being a railroad attorney was the free passes that were
issued to him so that he could travel on that particular railroad for free. During
those years before Lincoln became President, he probably gave little thought
about the possibility that his last ride would also be by rail. And it would be
a long, slow ride, with frequent stops, many different railroads, and the
occasional ferry ride to cross a river. By my count, Lincoln rode at least 11
different railroads to get home to Springfield from Washington, D.C.
Probably most of us know that Lincoln's Tomb is
in Springfield. And most of us who knew that, probably also know who is buried
in Lincoln's tomb. We even
probably know that Lincoln's body was transported by railroad from Washington
D. C. to Springfield for his burial. But probably very few of us know the route
and the difficulties of his last ride home.
Lincoln's Death
We know that Lincoln was killed by John Wilkes
Booth. Perhaps we might recall it was in 1865. Specifically, it was on Friday,
April 14, 1865 which also happened to be Good Friday. Secretary Stanton took on
the responsibility for organizing and overseeing Lincoln's last trip home. Lincoln's
first stop was the East Room of the White House where the funeral services were
held on Tuesday, April 18th. On the afternoon of the 18th, Lincoln's remains
were taken to the Capitol where they remained in the Rotunda until the 21st of
April, when the casket was placed on the train to begin the trip home.
Lincoln's most famous biographer, and
Galesburg's own, wrote this about Lincoln's remains in the East Room:
"On a pillow of white silk lay the head,
on plaited satin rested the body, dressed in the black suit in which the first
inaugural was delivered, with its references to 'fellow citizens,' to 'my
dissatisfied countrymenÕ, to 'better angels,Õ as though even among angels there
are the worse and the better. The chandeliers at each end of the East Room
drooped with black alpaca. The eight grand mirrors of the room spoke sorrow
with night-shade silk gauze. The doors, the windows too, draped with black
alpaca."
(Sandburg, 1939).
The role of Stanton
It was no small task. Some historians indicate
that Lincoln's trip home followed the path he took when he went to Washington
to become President. This is generally true, but not completely. In 1861, he
went to Cincinnati and to Pittsburgh on the way east. These cities were omitted
on his way home, and Chicago was added. The remains of Lincoln's son, Willie,
who died in the White House on February 20,1862 also made the trip home with
his father. Willie had been buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, but
was exhumed to accompany his father for burial in Springfield.
The Trip Home
The long trip home began with Lincoln' body
being moved from the Rotunda to a special train provided by the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad.
The casket was moved to the train at about 6 or 7 AM on the 21st of April. The
depot was closed down for this period except for those passengers who had
tickets for a scheduled train departing at 7:30AM to Baltimore and those who
had special passes to accompany the President on the funeral train.
Washington to Baltimore
The special train was scheduled to leave
Washington for Baltimore at 8AM. It consisted of a new locomotive and nine new
cars, which included the special car that carried Lincoln's casket. All the
cars were draped for mourning. A special "pilot engine" went before
the special train to ensure that the track was clear. This pilot engine
approach was used during the entire trip to Springfield. The military guard
that had direct responsibility for Lincoln's remains was from the "Invalid
CorpsÓ - injured veterans from the Civil War. The train arrived at Baltimore at
about 10AM. Lincoln's remains were then transported off the train to the
rotunda of the Exchange Building where the casket was viewed by "tens of
thousands".
Harrisburg, PA
Lincoln was next loaded on a new train for transportation
to Harrisburg via the Northern Central Railway. This was accomplished
at the Northern Central Railway depot. The train arrived in Harrisburg at about 8PM. It was raining
so hard that the local ceremony was given up and Lincoln was transported from
the train to the House of Representatives at the State House. Viewing was
allowed from 9PM until midnight, at which time, his remains were secured for
the night. In the morning, Lincoln was next transported to yet another
railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad. At about 11AM, this train left for
Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, PA
The special train arrived at Philadelphia at
about 4:30 in the afternoon. Lincoln's remains were once again removed and this
time placed in Independence Hall for viewing. Lincoln's remains were at
Independence Hall from Saturday the 22nd until Monday the 24th when they was
again moved back to the train for transport to New York. The funeral train left
Philadelphia at 4 AM.
New York City
It seems strange by today's standards, but the
train could not make it to New York. Its track ended at Jersey City, New
Jersey. At this point, Lincoln's remains were transported from the funeral
train to a ferry that carried Lincoln across the Hudson River to Desbrosses
Street. The special funeral car
was also carried across the river by a different ferry. Once in New York, the
casket was moved to City Hall where it was viewed by a reported 1/2 million
mourners. Retired General Winford Scott, former Commander of the Army, was
reported to be among those who viewed Lincoln.
Albany, New York
On the 25th of April, Lincoln was placed on yet
another railroad, being transported by the Hudson River Railroad from New York City to
near Albany. This leg of the journey was at night and the track followed the
east shore of the Hudson River Valley, hemmed by the river and the steep
mountains. It is recorded that at each little town along the way, the track
side was lighted by torches and citizens sang hymns and prayed. Among the
larger towns that saw Lincoln's funeral train pass through were Yonkers,
Peekskill and Poughkeepsie. Upon arriving at East Albany, the railroad reached
the end of its line. Lincoln was again transported across the Hudson River at
about 11PM. At some time after midnight, the coffin was transported to the
state Capitol in Albany and arrangements were being made to move the funeral
car back across the Hudson as well. On the 26th, the former railroad lawyer was
loaded up on yet another railroad for his next stop in Buffalo.
Buffalo, New York
The New York Central Railroad had the honor and
responsibility to transport the late President to Buffalo. Lincoln arrived in
Buffalo at 7AM on the 27th of April. Again, his remains were downloaded from
the train and transported to another viewing location. This time it was at St.
James Hall.
Cleveland, OH
Lincoln was reloaded on the train and his
westward travel led him to Cleveland, Ohio for another offloading and a viewing
at the City Park. There was a special building, constructed for the viewing,
which was probably a good thing as there was once again a very heavy rain. At
least one source has estimated that Lincoln was viewed by 180 people per minute
(a hard number to believe- 3 per second).
Columbus, OH
Alas, poor Lincoln was reloaded onto another
railroad system for travel from Cleveland to Columbus. This was accomplished by
the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad. It took 7 1/2 hours
for the train to travel from Cleveland to Columbus, where it arrived at 7:30 in
the morning. Not surprising at this point, Lincoln's remains were again removed
from the train and placed in the state capitol for the Buckeyes to view the
late President. After about 12 hours of viewing, Lincoln was again loaded on a
train for travel to Indianapolis.
Indianapolis, IN
For this leg of his journey home, Lincoln was
placed on yet another railroad line. This time it was the Columbus and
Indianapolis Central Railway. This line delivered Lincoln to Indianapolis at
about 7 AM on Sunday, April 30. Lincoln had been dead for over two weeks at
this point. Again, he was removed from the train and placed in the state
capitol for viewing by the Hoosiers. As you may recall, Lincoln lived in
southern Indiana for a number of years, before moving to Illinois. Thus, Indiana
was the first "home state" that Lincoln's remains reached. The next
leg of the journey perhaps set a record for railroads used between two
destinations.
Chicago, IL
Three different railroads were used to get the
special funeral car from Indianapolis to Chicago. The Lafayette and
Indianapolis Railroad
carried Lincoln from Indianapolis to Lafayette (IN). The Louisville, New
Albany and Chicago Railroad carried Lincoln from Lafayette to Michigan City (IN). Finally,
the Michigan Central Railroad transported Lincoln's remains from Michigan
City to Chicago. In Chicago, Lincoln spent two days in the Court House rotunda,
before being taken back to be loaded on a funeral train provided by the Chicago
and Alton Railroad.
The train left Chicago at 9:30 on Tuesday night, heading for his home -
Springfield.
Springfield, IL
The Chicago and Alton Railroad had the special honor of
carrying Lincoln through Illinois from Chicago to Springfield, where he would
finally find rest with his son, Willie. Springfield was reached on Wednesday,
May 3, 1865.
The Chicago and Alton Railroad published a time
schedule for the "funeral train", as had several earlier railroads. The
funeral train was scheduled to leave Chicago at 9:30PM on Tuesday, May 2 and
arrive in Springfield at 6:30 AM on Wednesday, May 3. At this point in history,
the times that it passed through various locations are not particularly
important, but the listing of the locations that the train passed through may
be of interest.
Bridgeport Gardner Funk's
Grove
Summit Dwight McLean
Joys Odell Atlanta
Lemont Cayuga Lawn
Dale
Lockport Pontiac Lincoln
Joliet Ocoya Broadwell
Elwood Chenoa Elkhart
Hampton Lexington Williamsville
Wilmington Towanda Sherman
Stewart's Grove Bloomington Sangamon
Braceville Shirley Springfield
It is too bad that the train didn't pass through
Galesburg. It would seem to have made the life and connection between Sandburg
and Lincoln and Galesburg more complete. But in 1865, who would have known that
a small prairie town not all that far from Bloomington and Springfield would
become the birthplace of the best known Lincoln biographer.
According to one source, Lincoln traveled
through 445 cities and 9 states on his trip home. Such was the last railroad
ride by Lincoln. Of course since then, the railroads went through some hard
times and there was a major consolidation through buyouts and bankruptcy. Railroads
built bridges across the Hudson, the Ohio, the Mississippi, eliminating the
need to ferry across rivers to climb onto another railroad.
In some ways, it is almost ironic, given all the
changes in railroads, and the ferrying activities required to get Lincoln home.
As part of Lincoln's great adventure of forming the Union Pacific Railroad to
connect California with the United States, Lincoln had the task (at least
first) of standardizing the width of the tracks. He also was involved with
representing a railroad case that ultimately wasn't resolved until after he was
in the White House. This case established the clear right of railroad bridges
to cross navigable rivers in such a manner that they would not interfere with
river commercial traffic (steamboats). It was an Illinois case.
But Lincoln's travels were not quite done, even
after he was buried in Springfield. Due to attempted theft of his body and
numerous rumors of other planned attempts, Lincoln had one more trip to his
current tomb, safely buried under lots of concrete. I don't believe a railroad
was involved in this final relocation. But his casket was opened and his
remains were viewed by approximately 15 men who attested that Lincoln was, in
fact, the individual buried in Lincoln's tomb. This was done to quiet rumors
that his remains had already been stolen.
One
of those men was Galesburg's own Moses Ocean ("M.O.") Williamson who
was Treasurer of the State of Illinois at that time. Not too many years after
Lincoln's relocation from one Springfield tomb to another, his special funeral
car came to a fiery death. On March 19, 1911, The Minneapolis Sunday Journal
reported
that on the previous day, Lincoln's funeral car was consumed in flames during
the rage of a prairie fire.
It is only fitting that Sandburg (1939) should
get the last word on Lincoln. His combination of poetry and prose painted an
image of Lincoln's trip home that few others could ever attempt:
"THERE was a funeral.
It took long to pass its many given points.
Many millions of people saw it and personally
moved in it and were part of its procession
The line of march ran seventeen hundred
miles.
As a death march nothing like it had ever
been attempted beforeÉ.
The people, the masses, nameless and
anonymous numbers of persons not listed nor published among those present-these
redeemed it.
They gave it the dignity and authority of a
sun darkened by a vast bird migration.
They shaped it into a drama awful in the
sense of having na•ve awe and tears without shame.
They gave it the color and heave of the sea
which is the mother of tears.
They lent to it the color of the land and the
earth which is the bread-giver of life and the quiet tomb of the Family of
Man."
References
Anon. 1935. Obituary of M. O. Williamson.
February 25, 1935.
Minneapolis (Minnesota) Sunday Journal March 19, 1911 issue.
Sandburg, Carl. 1939. The War Years. Volume 4. Harcourt,
Brace & Co. New York.
Starr, John. 1927. Lincoln and the Railroads. Dodd, Mean &
Company. New York. 325 pages.
www.lincoln-history-museum.org
http://home.att.net~rjnorton/lincoln68.html
2-13-06