This photo enlargement (32” x 51”) is in the Special Collections of the Kent State University Library. It was last on display on campus in 2011 as part of an exhibit about the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
On April 21, 1865, just five days after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his body was placed on a funeral train in Washington, D.C., for a solemn journey that retraced some of the campaign stops he had made on his way from the Illinois capital in Springfield to the nation’s capital.
The journey took 13 days and covered 1,645 miles, passing through seven states and 400 cities and towns, with stops in larger cities including Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Cleveland.
At the train’s stops, thousands and thousands of mourners passed by the president’s body, lying in state. Even along the route, as the train passed by towns and open countryside, people stood by the tracks. Bonfires illuminated the route, men removed their hats and bowed their heads, people whispered prayers and choirs sang.
The photo was captured by Cleveland-based photographer H.H. Reeves. An original print of this image is part of the collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society.
This image is part of “Remembering Lincoln: A Project of Ford’s Theater,” with the information “View of steam locomotive ‘Old Nashville’ at the Wilson Street Station in Cleveland, Ohio, April 28, 1865. This was just one of many locomotives used by various railroads to pull the Lincoln funeral train. This locomotive was owned by the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad and pulled the funeral train from Cleveland to Columbus. This photograph is the best image of any of the various funeral train locomotives and so all models of the 'official' Lincoln funeral train rely on this engine.”
This poster-sized print was donated to the university's Special Collections and Archives in 1990 by Thomas A Cox, a Ravenna attorney who collected Civil War memorabilia.
Want to see one of YOUR photos in “IN A FLASH?” Submit your Kent State-related photos to InAFlash@kent.edu and you may see them in a future Kent State Today post. Photos should be framed -horizontally- and include a brief description of what’s happening in the photo along with when and where it was taken.