American Flag Displayed During Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Procession

American Flag Displayed During Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Procession - Inventory Number: POL 381

April 1865 – Herring Residence, Baltimore, Maryland

This preserved fragment of an American flag was flown from the window of the Herring family home in Baltimore as President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train passed through the city in April 1865. According to the accompanying note, the Herrings were compelled to display the flag—likely due to Union pressures within a politically divided Maryland.

The Herring family holds literary significance as well: Joseph Herring was the uncle of Virginia Clemm Poe, wife of famed American author Edgar Allan Poe. Virginia and her mother, Maria Clemm, lived for a time in the Herring home, and it is believed that Poe visited frequently. Thus, this house served as a quiet backdrop to both national mourning and literary history.

This flag, worn with age, stands not only as a symbol of national grief following Lincoln’s assassination, but also as a thread in the broader tapestry of American cultural heritage.

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Inventory Number: POL 381