2015 Lincoln Funeral train

What Lincoln Funeral Train?

I imagine this one.

The replica Dave Kloke is building:

Rusty

Someone's looking to make a replica of the funeral train cars and re-create the train's route from 1865.

The only thing lacking is what the history book left out; there were plenty of hecklers for that train back then. Lincoln was hardly the most beloved president this country ever saw at the time, but history was slowly twisted the reality to place the man into almost saint-like status. There's a lot about the man that is taught in schools that borders on outright lying.

Last thing I saw from Mr. Kloke was, fundraising wasn't going all that well.

And the newest National Geographic features Lincolns funeral train.

Most of Lincoln's detractors went pretty silent after his assassination, as the killing sent a seismic shock throughout the country, even in the South. 

Oddly enough, of the presidents who died in office, Warren Harding was one of the most popular at the time of his death.

Jeff C

Within the last month I heard from a pretty knowledgeable historian that the plan to haul the Lincoln Funeral Train around the eastern part of the country (by truck) was in financial trouble.  I don't think that the construction of the equipment was the issue. There is or was an effort underway to try to regroup and get out there but time is rapidly running out to commemorate the 150 anniversary of the Lincoln assassination on April 14, 2015.  A reasonable "window" to continue the commemoration could probably extend through summer and early fall but that would about be it. 

 Aw schucks!

There's a lot about the man that is taught in schools that borders on outright lying.

Tell that to the party in power!

Jeff,

Sure, the assassination shocked everyone. And detractors did keep quiet, probably because the witch hunt was on for anyone associated with his killing. None of them were stupid enough to risk getting thrown into prison by possibly being involved, especially since we now accept that people not really involved were hung in the name of 'justice' in the frenzy to make people pay for the assasination itself.

But there are contemporary accounts of hecklers along the route of the train. Lincoln had plenty of enemies both in the North and the South from the start of the war. Let's face facts, if everyone loved the man, then why did someone shoot him?

History likes to gloss over things make them simple to digest. The Civil War was taught very differently depending on where you went to school, even when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. And the victors usually get the last say. That's how Lincoln became known as the "Great Emancipator" when in fact, he was pretty ambivalent about the plight of slaves in the South and considered the Emancipation Proclamation a political move to keep European influence out of the war on behalf of the Confederacy and also to politically justify what he had in mind for the invasion of the South, knowing what would happen to many of the major cities and industrial centers once Union troops made it down South. He was very clear that if he could win the war without addressing the issue at all, he’d have been just fine with that.

And never forget how for the most part, he threw the bill of rights out the window for the duration and called the shots his way, no matter what it would take to end the war. But history has for the most part glossed over that, in favor of a fictional account on how slavery was his main issue in life because it justifies the end result that way and makes him look good in history's eye.

NO president was ever loved by all.

Didn't Abe hunt vampires?

Yes, but he was more of a catch and release kind of guy...

Jeff C

After visiting Gettysburg I came away with a much better understanding of the entire war. I don't think they sugar coat it for either side. But yes, it's a bit different than grade school teaching. A period of time I do not think any of us fully understand. 

When I go to York, and then west on 30 to Gettysburg, I always drive up on top of the

hill and look down on Pickett's Charge, and think, "all those lives wasted".  There are a

lot of wars for really stupid reasons... they are going on now, for religious reasons, and there is no way to prove any major religion right or wrong.  While I was not there

in that time, I am glad my ancestor, on the losing side for whatever reason, managed

to survive it.  Most wars seem to be over the desire of somebody to impose their will

on others.  Certainly part of that war's causes was to relieve the impostion of somebody's will on others.

They used to tell the true history of the battle of Gettysburg.  Now they tell the politically correct version.

If you're going to York, stop by Gettysburg. One look from the start of Pickett's Charge will nearly tell you the story of the whole war. It's obvious that the charge wouldn't work. The Southern generals sent their men anyway. 

History has become too much an exercise in trying to ferret out every sin of anyone famous. Not one of us could lead a country without being called out on some old shame, so what's the point? Not every enslaved person was a saint, not every Southerner favored slavery, not every Yankee was an abolitionist (Sherman certainly wasn't!) ...but they weren't all, or even mostly, monsters, either. The choice of which side to fight on often came down to chance as much as ideology, and what happened to farms and towns that were in the way is what always happens in war.

If you want a real eye-opener sometime, dig up some newspapers from the war. Wheeling, WV had the Intelligencer and News-Register (from about 1863, and it may have been the Register very early) The Intel was unabashedly Union, the N-R overtly secessionist, and the editorials were uniformly insulting toward the President.

Here is the official website:

http://www.the2015lincolnfuneraltrain.com/

I know the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer is planning to host the train August 22 & 23 in conjunction with their model train show and sale weekend. I think this locomotive may be there as well:

http://www.leviathan63.com/

No firm plans have been made, but contact the museum at 704-636-2889 for more information.

The civil war was a close-up blood bath. Not anything like today with machine guns, long range snipers or drones. Ending this war, was the only civilized thing that Lincoln could do.

Prior to the Gatling gun, the only weapons available to militaries capable of firing many projectiles in a short space of time were mass-firing  volley-guns like the French used.

So load-fire-reload fire was a war at close range where you saw the enemies face when you shot him. Lincoln is rightly credited with ending the civil war, I think the worst war in our history.

So why not honor the president?

There were some modern style weapons used during the CW besides the Gatling Gun:

The Henry repeating rifle, precursor to the Winchester 30-30, was used by Union troops by 1865. This rifle used a modern style metal casing for the bullet and primer. 

The Sharp's Carbine, used mainly by Cavalry, was one of the first mass-produced breech loading rifles. 

Though most soldiers still had muzzle loading Enfields and Springfields, they were expected to get 3 shots off per minute. This can be done, for I have demonstrated this (using blank ammunition) during CW events.  

It's hard to know what to believe, for the man himself said:

"Never trust an internet quote." Abe Lincoln

I thought Abe was quoted as saying "Everything you read on the internet is true." 

At least that's the quote I saw on the internet.  

Rusty

The South had a lot of good generals but the Union had a president from Kentucky who turned loose two old boys from Ohio and showed them how to win a war.

The B&O Museum in Baltimore is going to be recreating the train. Unfortunately the 1856 William Mason 4-4-0 will not be operating but it should be a very cool event for those able to attend. Visit www.borail.org for details.

Seeing as how everyone was po'ed with Mr. Lincoln, he must have done something right...

The problem with the magazined cartridge rifles like the Henry and the Spencer in the

war was that generals were too conservative to demand them, and industry was not

tooled up for the quantity needed.  As for how fast percussion muskets could be loaded

and fired, I have read that many muskets picked up on the battlefield were loaded,

and loaded, and loaded, and loaded, almost out to the muzzle, but in the heat of the

battle, had never been fired.  If the first shot misfired, shooter did not halt the ritual

of cramming one charge on top of the other, ad infinitum.  And then, there is chain

firing in percussion revolvers, where if the charge is sloppily loaded, touching one

off, can touch all off.  (this made Colt percussion revolving rifles unpopular, where

your paw is out in front of the cylinder supporting the barrel, in sighting)  Must still

hold, for I have not heard of a metallic cartridge revolving rifle.

That hesistancy was well-founded due to all the other types of rifles that didn't work nbearly as well as a Henry or Spencer, each needing a speciality ammo for them.

Supply channels in the war were ridiculous and manufacturing techniques were laughable. The word, "Shoddy" came into its own during this war and was coined to describe all the laughably bad-made uniforms, equipment and weapons issued to troops in the field, especially in the North. Anyone who could make a buck selling the government, did so. And often, with zero regard to how many lives their products would be unable to improve or save.

History being 20-20, it's easy to wonder why the Union didn't have these fine repeating rifles cranked out like crazy. But once you look into all the truly awful other designs also being fielded, along with badly-made ammo, shipped to climates where they might not operate all that well, the primary use of three-banded muzzle loading rifles as the primary weapon on either side becomes a clear decision made with the best info at the time.