Lincoln Funeral General Orders No. 72 – Honor Guard to Springfield – April 20, 1865 / SOLD

Description

Lincoln Funeral General Orders No. 72 – Honor Guard to Springfield – April 20, 1865 

 

Civil War War Department General Orders No. 72, dated Washington, April 20, 1865, appointing the officers and Guard of Honor selected to accompany the remains of President Abraham Lincoln from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois, for burial.   

 

The order names the military officers assigned to the funeral escort, including E. D. Townsend, Charles Thomas, A. B. Eaton, J. G. Barnard, G. D. Ramsay, A. P. Howe, D. C. McCallum, David Hunter and J. C. Caldwell, along with “Twenty-five picked men, under a Captain.”   

 

Issued just days after Lincoln’s assassination, the document states that the honor guard would remain with the President’s remains until they were “consigned to their final resting-place.”   

 

A compelling Lincoln assassination and funeral-related War Department document, directly associated with the journey that carried the President’s remains home to Springfield. 

 

Inventory Number: DOC 442