The funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln moving down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol, April 19, 1865.
(Reproduced from photograph by Alexander Gardner, Washington, D. C.)

Funeral of Lincoln

On April 18, 1865, thousands of people viewed the remains of President Lincoln in the East Room of the Executive Mansion. Funeral services were held in this room on April 19, and then his coffin headed a procession which moved down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. Placed in the rotunda of the Capitol, his bier was visited by huge throngs on April 20.

The train bearing Lincoln's coffin left for Springfield, Ill., on April 21, following in reverse almost the same route taken by Lincoln in reaching Washington early in 1861. His body was placed in state in several of the large cities en route. On May 4, his coffin was placed in the receiving vault of Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Ill., 15 days after the services at the Executive Mansion in Washington. The Lincoln Monument, located on the hill above the receiving vault, was dedicated on October 15, 1874. It contains the bodies of President and Mrs. Lincoln and three of their four sons, Edward, William, and Thomas (Tad). The eldest, Robert Todd, the only Lincoln son to reach maturity, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.