
Lincoln’s Funeral
An estimated seven million people turned out in 11 cities to mourn the slain Lincoln. See where his funeral train went.
An update from Director Paul R. Tetreault on the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Follow Lincoln’s funeral train as it wound from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Ill.
After a service in the White House, the president’s body is carried down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol, where it lay in state until April 21.
In less than two hours, 10,000 people came to honor President Lincoln at Baltimore’s Camden Station. Just four years before, President-Elect Lincoln sneaked into Baltimore avoiding an alleged assassination plot.
Driving rain forced the cancellation of the planned funeral procession in Harrisburg. So many people lined up to view Lincoln’s body that mourners exited through the windows of the State House.
In 1861, fewer than 1,000 people greeted Lincoln’s inaugural train. In 1865, the line to see his casket stretched three miles. Lincoln was placed in the same room in which the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution debated.
At Jersey City, the funeral car was ferried across the Hudson River. Crowds, including African Americans (initially barred from the city’s official procession), lined Broadway as the casket proceeded to City Hall.
The funeral train arrived late at night on April 24. Each hour, 4,000 people viewed the casket at the State Capitol. The next day, tens of thousands line the route from the Capitol to the train station.
Former President Millard Fillmore and future President Grover Cleveland were among those who attended the ceremony. Public viewing lasted 11 hours.
After arriving at the Euclid Street train station, the president’s coffin was carried to Public Square. Crowds lined up to view Lincoln’s body, which newspapers noted was embalmed.
Mourners streamed into Columbus from the city and surrounding countryside, many traveling from as far as Kentucky. Mourners slowed the funeral procession so much that mountedcavalry needed to clear intersections.
In the state where Lincoln spent his boyhood, and despite the rain, 155 people per minute streamed through a pavilion that was erected adjacent to the State House for the occasion.
The procession from the train depot to the Cook County Courthouse included Confederate prisoners who swore loyalty to the Union. Following the viewing in the Courthouse, a torchlight procession led the casket to the train depot.
Lincoln’s casket was displayed inside Representative Hall, where 75,000 mourners visited. On May 4, the final funeral procession to Oak Ridge Cemetery passed the Lincolns’ home at Jackson and Eighth Streets. The president was buried there alongside his son, Willie.
Give to Ford’s Theatre and help us share the stories that shaped a nation.
“The struggle of today, is not altogether for today -- it is for a vast future also.”President Abraham Lincoln, December 3, 1861 Message to Congress
Want to see more images of funerals for Lincoln? Visit our Google Arts & Culture exhibition.
Want to see more responses to the Lincoln assassination? Visit our Remembering Lincoln website to see more from around the United States, and around the world.
What happened when John Wilkes Booth stepped into Ford’s Theatre? Follow the events in the theatre itself and hear from witnesses.
Teaching the Lincoln assassination? Find lesson plans and other resources here.
Looking for learning activities related to this history, and more? See what Ford’s Theatre has to offer.