The tragical procession

[loetar44]

Just finished reading a passage of “Washington in Lincoln's Time” (1895), by Noah Brooks in which was said the following:
“Wandering aimlessly up F street toward Ford's Theater, we met a tragical procession. It was headed by a group of army officers walking bareheaded, and behind them, carried tenderly by a company of soldiers, was the bier of the dead President, covered with the flag of the Union, and accompanied by an escort of soldiers who had been on duty at the house where Lincoln died.”

I found exactly the same passage on page 386 of “Lincoln and the Civil War; a profile and a history” (1960), edited by Courtlandt Canby.

What struck me was that Lincoln left Petersen’s House, on a BIER carried by a company of soldiers.

Other accounts say that a detachment of soldiers placed the President’s body in a plain pine coffin (box) and then in a HEARSE and escorted him to the White House.

Was Lincoln’s body wrapped in the Union flag, or is it possible that it was wrapped in a bed sheet and that the coffin was covered with the flag of the Union?

The Washington Chronicle reported on April 16: “Shortly after nine o'clock Saturday morning [April 15] the remains were placed in a temporary coffin, under the direction of [undertaker] Mr. Frank Sands, and removed to the White House.

After using google, I learned that “six young men of the Quartermaster's department” carried the body. They were: John E. Weaver, William Reith, Eli Morey, David Frantz, John Richardson, and Antonis Brigazzi. The sad cortege was headed by Gen. Augur, Gen. Rucker, Col. Pelouze, Capt. Anderson, Capt. Thomas, Capt. Crowell, and Capt. Baker, all walking bareheaded.

I wonder: was Lincoln carried on a bier? Was it a wheeled bier? Or was his body in a temporary (rough pine) coffin in a (horse drawn?) hearse? Was Lincoln’s body wrapped in the flag of the Union or in a bed sheet? And if the body was in a coffin, was this coffin then covered with the flag? I find the different accounts not very clear about this all.

Are there images existing of the cortege passing down the streets to the White House? An artist’s impression maybe?

[loetar44]

A KPBS documentary suggests a "wheeled bier""

   

Noah Brooks in"Washington in Lincoln's Time" suggest that Lincoln was carried: " ... every head was uncovered, and the profound silence which prevailed was broken only by sobs and by the sound of the measured tread of those who bore the martyred President back to the home which he had so lately quitted full of life, hope, and cheer."

[RJNorton]

Personally I have never come across an artist's rendition of the scene. I do not know how accurate all the information is, but there is some discussion and a photo of Weaver at

http://48thpennsylvania.blogspot.com/200...st-of.html

[L Verge]

There are so many descriptions of a "simple pine coffin" transporting the body to the White House, that I think we can go with that. I have also seen references to everything from a caisson to a hearse to a farm wagon being the means of transportation. I haven't been to the dictionary, but could a bier mean anything that is holding a coffin? Finally, I found this about a former exhibit at the Chicago Historical Society that really begs the question of whether a flag covered the coffin or the body:

Charles F. Gunther Collection, 1920.1689
This U.S. flag, on view in Abraham Lincoln Transformed, has a unique history. Union army soldiers, in a gesture of deep sorrow and great respect, reportedly wrapped Lincoln’s body in this flag before placing it in a temporary pine coffin for transport from the Petersen House to the White House. The flag’s history was revealed by piecing together a number of sources.

It is part of the Charles F. Gunther Collection purchased by the Chicago Historical Society in 1920. Gunther, an avid collector of Americana, obtained the flag in 1892 from Mrs. Sarah L. Brearley, widow of William Brearley, Chief Clerk of the Military Store Keeper’s Department during the Civil War.
In a sworn affidavit, dated December 30, 1890, Mr. Brearley stated that the flag “was used to cover President Lincoln’s body while being carried (from the Petersen House, where Lincoln died)…to the White House,” and that it “came into my possession in my official capacity.”
Brearley identified the flag as a U.S. Army recruitment flag. It never flew over the Petersen House but was brought there, perhaps by the Union army soldiers summoned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton during Lincoln’s death vigil.
The April 17, 1865 edition of the Baltimore Clipper reported that the “president’s body was removed from the private residence opposite Ford’s Theatre…at half-past nine o’clock…wrapped in the American flag.”
Elizabeth Dixon, wife of U.S. Senator James Dixon of Connecticut, who was with Mary Todd Lincoln at the Petersen House when Lincoln died, and later at White House when his body arrived, stated in a letter written May 1, 1865, that “…the remains of the murdered President…were taken into the great State bedroom, wrapped in an American flag.”
The flag has 34 stars that represent the number of states in the Union from 1861 to 1863. Early in the war, some people urged Lincoln to remove eleven stars for the seceded Southern states. Lincoln refused, in the belief that secession was not valid.
The flag has not been on public view in more than fifty years; it required a great deal of conservation work in order to be safely displayed. After Abraham Lincoln Transformed closes, the flag will be taken off its mount and returned to storage. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to not only see this special flag, but many other important artifacts related to America’s 16th president.

blog.chicagohistory,org/index.php/2009/10/a-special-flag/

[Jim Garrett]

Frank Sands, an army carpenter hastily constructed a coffin because Lincoln would not fit in a standard coffin. I believe Sands also made the coffin that would carry Lincoln back to Springfield. I thought that Lincoln was carried back to the White House in an army ambulance.

[LincolnToddFan]

Laurie!

One of my first questions when I joined the Forum some months ago was what had become of the flag that had wrapped AL's remains when he was returned to the WH. I simply could not accept that such an important Lincoln relic had been lost.

It looks like you have answered my question, thanks...a debt of gratitude-

[Anita]

According to this article the hearse that carried Lincoln from the Petersen house to the White House on April 15, 1865 and to the train station on April 17, 1865 are one and the same.

"Jerry Sibert found the hearse on a Chambersburg, Pa., area farm in 1990 and bought it for $2,700. He had the hearse evaluated by the late historian D.L. Allebaugh, but the black-and-gold carriage has not been registered with an agency or society.

In his findings, Allebaugh wrote that on April 15, 1865, the hearse - termed Compound Unit No. 1 - carried Lincoln from the Peterson House to the White House. The coffin was wrapped in a flag and escorted by military personnel, he wrote.

The coffin was loaded back onto the hearse April 17 and taken to the train station, according to Allebaugh's writings. The train took Lincoln to be buried in Springfield, Ill.

A Washington, D.C., mortuary bought the hearse in the late 1860s, Allebaugh reported. He said the hearse, reportedly made by William J. Tickner & Sons Carriage Co. of Baltimore, changed ownership several times in Pennsylvania. Allebaugh and Sibert partnered to restore the hearse."

See the entire article at http://articles.herald-mail.com/2007-01-...al-library

[loetar44]

(11-30-2014 03:11 PM)Anita Wrote:  According to this article the hearse that carried Lincoln from the Petersen house to the White House on April 15, 1865 and to the train station on April 17, 1865 are one and the same.

"Jerry Sibert found the hearse on a Chambersburg, Pa., area farm in 1990 and bought it for $2,700. He had the hearse evaluated by the late historian D.L. Allebaugh, but the black-and-gold carriage has not been registered with an agency or society.

In his findings, Allebaugh wrote that on April 15, 1865, the hearse - termed Compound Unit No. 1 - carried Lincoln from the Peterson House to the White House. The coffin was wrapped in a flag and escorted by military personnel, he wrote.

The coffin was loaded back onto the hearse April 17 and taken to the train station, according to Allebaugh's writings. The train took Lincoln to be buried in Springfield, Ill.

A Washington, D.C., mortuary bought the hearse in the late 1860s, Allebaugh reported. He said the hearse, reportedly made by William J. Tickner & Sons Carriage Co. of Baltimore, changed ownership several times in Pennsylvania. Allebaugh and Sibert partnered to restore the hearse."

See the entire article at http://articles.herald-mail.com/2007-01-...al-library

Thank you for this info Anita. Is this the hearse about you are speaking?

   

[loetar44]

Anita wrote:

See the entire article at http://articles.herald-mail.com/2007-01-...al-library

How reliable is this all? The article says: ´ The coffin was loaded back onto the hearse April 17 and taken to the train station, according to Allebaugh's writings. The train took Lincoln to be buried in Springfield, Ill.”

However until April 18 President Lincoln lay in state in the East Room and on April 19 his body was brought to the Capitol Rotunda in an impressive procession. The funeral car then was large. The lower base was fourteen feet long and seven feet wide, and eight feet from the ground. The upper base, upon which the coffin rested, was eleven feet long and five feet below the top of the canopy. The canopy was surmounted by a gilt eagle, covered with crape. The hearse was entirely covered with cloth, velvet, crape and alpaca. The seat was covered with cloth, and on each side was a splendid lamp. The car was fifteen feet high, and the coffin was so placed as to afford a full view to all spectators. It was drawn by six gray horses, each attended by a groom (source New York Times).

Here are two images:

       

Maybe "Allebaugh's hearse" was used in the morning of April 21 when the body was taken from the Capitol Rotunda to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Depot in Washington, D.C.

And in reference to 15 april (Petersen's House --> White House) we still have the account of Noah Brooks: "..... It was headed by a group of army officers walking bareheaded, and behind them carried tenderly by a company of soldiers was the bier of the dead President, covered with the flag of the Union, and accompanied by an escort of soldiers who had been on duty at the house where Lincoln died. "

[Anita]

Kees, you asked how credible are the facts presented in this article (http://articles.herald-mail.com/2007-01-...-library). I wondered the same thing myself! You've pointed out some major discrepancies. What do we know about historian Allebaugh and his research. Hopefully his documentation records exist. A lot of money and historical credibility are at stake if it's the hearse that will be in the Gettysburg Heritage Center museum or any museum for that matter. The black and gold hearse posted by you could be the one the article describes.

I will try to see if I can find out more. It is puzzling.

[loetar44]

(12-01-2014 04:26 PM)Anita Wrote:  Kees, you asked how credible are the facts presented in this article (http://articles.herald-mail.com/2007-01-...-library). I wondered the same thing myself! You've pointed out some major discrepancies. What do we know about historian Allebaugh and his research. Hopefully his documentation records exist. A lot of money and historical credibility are at stake if it's the hearse that will be in the Gettysburg Heritage Center museum or any museum for that matter. The black and gold hearse posted by you could be the one the article describes.

I will try to see if I can find out more. It is puzzling.

Thanks Linda, it's all very confusing to me. The Tallahassee Automobile Museum has Abraham Lincoln's horse-drawn hearse on display too, without telling when and were it was used ....

   

[Linda Anderson]

(12-01-2014 04:41 PM)loetar44 Wrote:  

(12-01-2014 04:26 PM)Anita Wrote:  Kees, you asked how credible are the facts presented in this article (http://articles.herald-mail.com/2007-01-...-library). I wondered the same thing myself! You've pointed out some major discrepancies. What do we know about historian Allebaugh and his research. Hopefully his documentation records exist. A lot of money and historical credibility are at stake if it's the hearse that will be in the Gettysburg Heritage Center museum or any museum for that matter. The black and gold hearse posted by you could be the one the article describes.

I will try to see if I can find out more. It is puzzling.

Thanks Linda, it's all very confusing to me. The Tallahassee Automobile Museum has Abraham Lincoln's horse-drawn hearse on display too, without telling when and were it was used ....

I'm confused, too, but I do know you meant to thank Anita. Also, I just noticed that posts 8 & 9 in the thread Transport to White House are identical to posts 10 & 11 in this thread.

---

[loetar44]

(12-01-2014 04:45 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  

(12-01-2014 04:41 PM)loetar44 Wrote:  

(12-01-2014 04:26 PM)Anita Wrote:  Kees, you asked how credible are the facts presented in this article (http://articles.herald-mail.com/2007-01-...-library). I wondered the same thing myself! You've pointed out some major discrepancies. What do we know about historian Allebaugh and his research. Hopefully his documentation records exist. A lot of money and historical credibility are at stake if it's the hearse that will be in the Gettysburg Heritage Center museum or any museum for that matter. The black and gold hearse posted by you could be the one the article describes.

I will try to see if I can find out more. It is puzzling.

Thanks Linda, it's all very confusing to me. The Tallahassee Automobile Museum has Abraham Lincoln's horse-drawn hearse on display too, without telling when and were it was used ....

I'm confused, too, but I do know you meant to thank Anita. Also, I just noticed that posts 8 & 9 in the thread Transport to White House are identical to posts 10 & 11 in this thread.

---

Sorry, yes I wanted to thank Anita! Slip of the electronic pen ? Hope Anita will bring clarity to our confused minds .....

[L Verge]

From the Abraham Lincoln Classroom online: (Note that I have capitalized "hearse" twice and "carriage" once in the text related to moving the body from Petersen's to the White House.)

Abraham Lincoln died from his wounds at 7:22 P.M. on Saturday, April 15, 1865. Teenager Henry B. Stanton, who had frequently visited the President with his father, made his way to the Petersen House before the body of Abraham Lincoln was removed to the Executive Mansion. “I stood very close to those steps until finally there came out that little band of mourners and gently placed the body of the murdered President in the hearse.” There were few other people around so Stanton was able to follow the HEARSE. “At the east gate of the White House, there were soldiers and no one was admitted to the grounds. I had gone a little ahead and stood on the pavement close to the gate. This absence of a great crowd on such an occasion was not due to any want of interest or sympathy, but was rather caused, as it seemed to me, by the terrible shock that had passed over the city, and because every one was so depressed that few had the desire to rush forward to form or join a crowd.”1

“Instantly flags were raised at half-mast all over the city, the bells tolled solemnly, and with incredible swiftness Washington went into deep, universal mourning,” wrote journalist Noah Brooks. “All shops, government departments, and private offices were closed, and everywhere, on the most pretentious residences and on the humblest hovels, were the black badges of grief. Nature seemed to sympathize in the general lamentation, and tears of rain fell from the moist and somber sky. The wind sighed mournfully through the streets crowded with sad-faced people, and broad folds of funeral drapery flapped heavily in the wind over the decorations of the day before. Wandering aimless up F street toward Ford’s Theatre, we met a tragical procession. It was headed by a group of army officers walking bareheaded, and behind them carried tenderly by a company of soldiers was the bier of the dead President, covered with the flag of the Union, and accompanied by an escort of soldiers who had been on duty at the house where Lincoln died. As the little cortege passed down the street to the White House, every head was uncovered, and the profound silence which prevailed was broken only by sobs and by the sound of the measured tread of those who bore the martyred President back to the home which he had so lately quitted full of life, hope, and cheer.”2

As young Stanton stood by the gate, he observed an elderly black woman still wearing “her large blue-and-white kitchen apron…come running across the street. She passed in front of the HEARSE and had no difficulty in taking her place beside me within two feet of where it would pass.” As the CARRIAGE passed by she “gathered her big apron over her face and sobbed aloud. Then there seemed to come to her soul a great light and a great courage. She dropped her apron and said in a firm though broken voice: ‘They needn’t to crow yet. God ain’t dead!”3

This section describes the official hearse used in the transport from White House to Capitol:

The funeral car was large. The lower base was fourteen feet long and seven feet wide, and eight feet from the ground. The upper base, upon which the coffin rested, was eleven feet long and five feet below the top of the canopy. The canopy was surmounted by a gilt eagle, covered with crape. The hearse was entirely covered with cloth, velvet, crape and alpaca. The seat was covered with cloth, and on each side was a splendid lamp. The car was fifteen feet high, and the coffin was so placed as to afford a full view to all spectators. It was drawn by six gray horses, each attended by a groom.

[Anita]

Kees and Laurie, here are photos of Sibert with the restored hearse.

Caption: Jerry Sibert recently sold his 1845 hearse that carried President Abraham Lincoln during his 1865 funeral. January Photos 2007 "

   


   


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