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The Lincoln Funeral Train, NY, Images of America The effective end of the American Civil War on April 9, 1865, had hardly sunk in when, only five days later, another disaster stunned the battered and bloodied nation. On the night of April 14, Pres. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. There would be time for vengeful thoughts later, but first the Great Emancipator was going to get a royal send-off. At the center of what would become a three-week national funeral was a spectacular train that would carry Lincoln?s remains, and those of his deceased son, from Washington, DC, to Springfield, Illinois. ?The Lincoln Special? steamed slowly out of spring mists, allowing thousands of mourners lining the tracks a lingering view. Eleven funerals were held in major cities along the route. Among them were Baltimore, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York City, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago. It was a logistics miracle?a romantic pageant of sorrow and wonder carried off flawlessly. Through the tears, however, was a sense that America?s identity had turned a corner and was about to enter a dynamic and hopeful future.