RIP, Mr. President

The last of the Abraham Lincoln history lesson ended appropriately at the Oak Ridge Cemetery, the cemetery where Abraham Lincoln lies for eternity.

On May 4, 1865, the final funeral for President Lincoln was held at Oak Ridge Cemetery, and the President's remains were placed in the public receiving vault along with his son, William.  The remains were in the receiving vault until December 21, 1865, at which time they were placed in a temporary family vault up the hill behind the tomb.  Edward, another son who had preceded the President in death, was moved from Springfield's Hutchinson Cemetery to the family vault where they stayed.

Public Vault

Interior of the public vault

The current tomb can be seen on the hill above and behind the public vault.

We then went to the tomb which was very impressive and fit for this great man.

The obelisk is 117 feet tall.  Over the entrance door is a bronze plaque bearing the Gettysburg Address.  There are 40 shields or ashlars, 37 bear the name of a state and three each individually say U, S, and A.  These are the states that made up the Union at the time the tomb was dedicated in 1874.

The tomb took five years to build at a cost of $171,000 (about $4.8 million today) and was funded by donations given to the National Lincoln Monument Association by friends, school groups, church groups, veteran groups, and the State of Illinois.  

We went inside and met a very nice guide who gave us a brief overview of the tomb.

When you enter the tomb you can see the working study of Daniel Chester French's "Seated Lincoln".  The original is the central theme of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

Around the walls of the Rotunda, there are 16 marble columns for the 16th President.  There are 36 bronze columns for the 36 states at the time of President Lincoln's death.  The marble in the Rotunda came from Utah, Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota and Massachusetts, and four countries.  The gratings are designed to resemble the corn stalks of Illinois.  I wish the guide had given me the handout with this information before we took our pictures.

In November 1876, Chicago counterfeiter James Kennally planned to steal Lincoln's body and hold it in exchange for a pardon for his engraver (who was serving a ten-year sentence at Illinois State Penitentiary) and $200,000 (approximately $5 million today).  The plot failed when two men recruited to assist turned out to be paid government informants, and the men sent to get the body did not plan how to remove the quarter-ton coffin from the grounds.

Shortly thereafter, the tomb custodian and a group of trusted confidants moved the coffin from its room to a secret location in the basement of the tomb.  Finding the ground waterlogged, they temporarily set the coffin on the ground and disguised it under a wood pile.  They were relieved to find that the seals on the coffin were intact and that Lincoln's remains had not been disturbed.

On November 18, 1878, the coffin was moved and buried in a shallow grave on the far end of the labyrinth.  After receiving anonymous threats in the mail, the coffin was dug up two days later to make sure it was still there.

In 1880, the "Lincoln Guard of Honor" was formed to serve as custodians of Lincoln's remains.  Other than its members, only Robert Todd Lincoln knew of this organization.  In 1882, after Mary Lincoln died, Robert instructed the Guard of Honor to bury his mother's coffin wherever they kept his father's.  Both coffins remained in the basement until 1887, when they were encased in a brick vault, at which time Lincoln's coffin was opened to verify his remains were still there.

In 1900, a complete reconstruction of the tomb was undertaken as the original tomb was in constant need of repair.  Lincoln's remains were exhumed and the coffin was placed back in the white marble sarcophagus.  Upon completion of the reconstruction in 1901, Robert Todd Lincoln visited the tomb.  He was unhappy with the disposition of his father's remains and decided that it was necessary to build a permanent crypt for his father.  Lincoln's coffin would be placed in a steel cage 10 feet deep and encased in concrete in the floor of the tomb.

And then we entered the tomb.

The President is buried 30 inches back from the front of the stone and 10 feet deep in a steel and concrete vault.  That should make sure his body stays where its supposed to be!

The flags to the left.

And to the right.

Across from the headstone are the graves of Mary and the three sons.

Although oldest son Robert Todd Lincoln is not buried in the tomb with his family, there is a memorial for him.  As you remember, we saw his sarcophagus a few days before when we visited Arlington National Cemetery.

I feel like we've come full circle with the life and death of Abraham Lincoln and his family.  What an education!  RIP, Mr. President.