Abe Lincoln’s Body
For history buffs, one of the most fascinating events in American history is the attempted theft of President Abraham Lincoln’s body.
After Lincoln was assassinated in Washington, D.C., his son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had his father’s remains and the body of his little brother, William Wallace Lincoln, boarded on a train bound for a final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. The train left on April 21, 1865, traveled 1,654 miles and arrived on May 3 making multiple stops along the way for mourners to view Lincoln’s well preserved body.
However, Lincoln’s rest was destined to be anything but peaceful. His remains were moved seventeen times, often to secret locations over the years. The last reconstruction of his deteriorating resting place was done in 1930 under the watchful eyes of President Herbert Hoover.
Before his first burial, an argument ensued between authorities and Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd, who eventually won out. After his funeral on May 4, 1865 he was interred in a public receiving vault at Oak Ridge Cemetery until a permanent place could be built. Then his remains were placed in a crypt in 1871 and moved again when his tomb was completed in 1874.
In 1876, two counterfeiters met in a Chicago tavern and plotted a way to get the man who supplied them with counterfeit bills out of prison. Their plan was to steal Lincoln’s body, hold it for ransom and hide it in the Indiana Dunes. However, riding on the same train was a group of lawmen interested in what an informant had to say. The lawmen allowed the plan to go forward, waiting instead until the thieves entered the tomb. They managed to move the coffin four inches before outside noise alerted the criminals and made them run away. They were later captured.
In 1900, faulty soil and construction negated reconstruction of the tomb, which was completed in 1901. However, Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd, was not pleased. To prevent future attempts to steal his father’s body, Robert Todd decided a new crypt should be built, the body placed in a steel cage ten feet down and encased in cement.
Yet the question remained in the minds of the twenty three people present on the day the body was again scheduled to be moved — had anyone managed to steal his body? After thirty-six years, the coffin was opened. Indeed he was still there and his body had been so well preserved, it was still recognizable. It was the sixth time the casket had been opened since his death. A thirteen-year-old saw the body and confirmed the condition before he died in 1963.
Today, visitors who come to see the current resting place will find a 117-foot-tall granite obelisk and several bronze statues of Lincoln. Mary Todd Lincoln and three of his four sons are also buried there. Robert Todd Lincoln is buried in Arlington National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia.
By Marti Talbott
Gore Vidal’s Lincoln (Shop US)
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