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Commemorating the repose of President Lincoln
with 36-star flag display and Civil War encampment
April 14, 2022
 
Civil War Encampment
(Columbus, OH) –The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will commemorate the repose of President Abraham Lincoln in the Ohio Capitol on Friday, April 29. The day will begin with cannon firings on the Ohio Statehouse West Plaza starting at 10 a.m., and will include Civil War reenactors, a historic 36-star flag display, a replica coffin and honor guards throughout the day. The events are free and open to the public.

In conjunction with the repose of Lincoln, the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A will hold the 2022 Civil War Encampment at the Ohio Statehouse. Their historical reenactors, along with other partnering organizations, will demonstrate Civil War life and provide interactive experiences such as walking among soldiers’ tents and helping the Ladies Aid Society care for the troops. The festivities will also include music and games, and cannons will fire periodically from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the West Plaza of the Ohio Statehouse.

The 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A Civil War reenactors will also provide an honor guard for the replica of Lincoln’s coffin from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda, the very site where the slain President lay in repose on April 29, 1865.
In the same site, CSRAB will display the 36-Star flag that flew over Capitol Square during President Lincoln's 1865 repose. The flag originally was presented to David Nevin Murray of Portsmouth, Ohio, for his contributions to the war effort on behalf of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Murray’s descendants, the Van Tilburg family, donated the historic flag to the Ohio History Connection.

On the day of President Lincoln’s 1865 repose, from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. an estimated 50,000 people paid their respects to the “Savior of the Union.” The train that carried the president’s body, referred to as the “Lincoln Funeral Train” traveled more than 1,600 miles, and during the 13-day trip, one third of the population of the United States witnessed the train pass through their community, including Columbus, Ohio.

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