STATEHOUSE NEWS

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A special commemoration of the Repose of Abraham Lincoln in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda will take place Tuesday, April 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day will be marked with a Repose of Lincoln re-enactment and a photo exhibit. The event is free and open to the public.

The original coffin position in the Rotunda will be cordoned off, where in 1865 President Lincoln lay-in-repose. A mourning wreath of mixed evergreens, magnolia leaves and white roses will be placed at the site. Flowers will be placed throughout the Rotunda to add realism to the event. The scent of flowers played an important part on the overall setting April 29, 1865.

The 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A, a group of Civil War re-enactors, will provide an honor guard over a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s coffin and catafalque in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda. The replica coffin is on loan courtesy of Batesville Casket Company (Batesville, IN), the company that made Lincoln’s original coffin in 1865. A changing of the guard is scheduled to take place every 20 minutes. Members of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A will stand guard from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the Statehouse Rotunda.

About the Repose of Lincoln
Lincoln died in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 15, 1865 after being shot, nine hours earlier, by assassin John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln’s body traveled 1,700 miles by train from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, IL and was put to rest May 4, 1865. Along the way, state funerals were conducted in 12 cities - Columbus was the ninth city to host such a service.

The doors to the Ohio Statehouse opened April 29, 1865 shortly after 9 a.m. By 6 p.m. more than 50,000 people had filed through the Statehouse Rotunda to see the President’s coffin.

About the Photo Exhibit
Thanks to the Ohio Statehouse Museum Education Center, a special exhibit of images from the Library of Congress will be on display in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda. The images chronicle Lincoln’s assassination and the men and women named as conspirators, along with their fate. This exhibit is for mature audiences.

Images of the Repose of Lincoln are available at: http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/galleries/lincolns-repose-april-29

To view this press release and others, visit www.ohiostatehouse.org.

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Calendar Listing:

The Repose of President Lincoln
April 29, 2014; 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Rotunda
The Ohio Statehouse 1 Capitol Square Columbus, OH 43215


The 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A, a group of Civil War re-enactors, will provide an honor guard for a replica of Lincoln’s casket from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. This will take place on the site where the slain President lay in state in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda April 29, 1865.

A special exhibit of images from the Library of Congress will be on view in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda on Lincoln’s assassination and the men and women named as conspirators along with their fate. This exhibit is for mature audiences. This program is supported by the 1^stOhio Light Artillery, Battery A.