Scott Mingus Sr.'s Talk on Lincoln's Funeral Train!
Photo collage: Right Side - Mr. Scott Mingus Sr., Bottom Left - Author's Books, Top Left - Shop's Front Sign.
Last night, Author Scott Mingus Sr. drove up to our shop, as part of our summer PROMM talks, and did a wonderful presentation on Lincoln’s funeral train as it made its long journey throughout the northeast in 1865. He included many interesting facts, such as John Wilkes Booth’s childhood ties to York, and how “exclusive” it was to even ride the train carrying the deceased president.
Back in April of 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed on Easter Weekend. As per his wife’s wishes for her husband’s body, the government was going to send him home to Springfield, IL. Both John Garrett, from one of the railroad companies, and the Ohio Governor John Brough, created the original route the president’s train was supposed to take. Mary, however, did not wish to endure a two-week long parading of her husband’s body, and had set a number of requirements for the trip as she planned on joining them in Springfield. For example, no sketches or photos where to be taken of her husband, and she also added the stipulation for them to dig up her deceased son and include him on the ride home. But that was the tip of the iceberg.
Pretty soon, a number of politicians and other people wanted to ride on the train, complicating the matter of the government only supplying three cars: the funeral car, the baggage car, and the president’s family car. It was up to the local railroads to provide their own locomotive and passenger cars, all while adhering to the operating guidelines set forth by the government.
At that time, trains needed to refuel on wood and water at various locations, which also helped to direct where all the president would be viewed. One of the stops ended up being in Lancaster, where 20,000 people showed up to see him. Unfortunately, for many Americans who came out to catch a glimpse of their slain leader, the weather was not cooperative in the beginning of the trip, and left them waiting hours in the midst of bad thunderstorms. Harrisburg was just one of these examples, as thousands of onlookers were soaked from the previous night’s storms. Although, when the weather cleared the following morning, it gave our state capital the first chance at photographing the funeral train after it first departed.
There were so many stories and facts that Mr. Scott Mingus Sr. spoke of during his presentation, that it would fill this blog post and then some! If you are interested in finding out more about Lincoln’s Funeral Train, stop on by our shop to pick up a copy of his books!
Thanks to Sarah Ickes and Sherry Ickes for the images of the evening’s talk.
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