Items that were carried with President Abraham Lincoln to his grave 150 years ago will be reunited next month at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.
Two silver medallions engraved with the city, date, and "In Memoriam A.L." were part of the hearse that carried Lincoln to his tomb. They have not been seen by the public since his death in 1865. They were believed to have been destroyed in 1887 when the hearse that carried Lincoln's body burned. It was later determined the medallions were removed before the fire and passed around.
According to James Cornelius, curator of the presidential library's Lincoln Collection, only a handful of people in the world knew the medallions existed. One was found in a St. Louis library's archive, and the other was located in the possession of a private collector in Texas.
"Tracking them down and reuniting them for the public to see is incredibly exciting, especially when the nation is commemorating the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's death," Cornelius said.
The exhibit "A Fiendish Assassination" opens April 2 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Along with the medallions, it will also include:
- The only surviving photo of Lincoln in his coffin
- Part of a blood-stained towel
- Robert Lincoln's telegrams asking key advisors to rush to Washington
- An American flag with stars that spell the word "free." The small flag had been attached to a sandwich cart at Lincoln's funeral.
- A feather from a swan sent to Lincoln's tomb by Queen Victoria
- A handle from one of Lincoln's caskets
The exhibit runs through early July.
