Oak Ridge was the first stop on a busy day between Wisconsin and Kentucky, and is yet another place in another city that have both been added to the list of places to return to. For someone whose kids have orders to pull the plug, send me through the crematorium, and scatter the remains, I sure enjoy visiting other folks' final resting places, and the older the better.
Lincoln's tomb is away from the cemetery entrance in a spot chosen by his family in May of 1865 but construction did not begin on it until 1869; it was finally dedicated by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1874. It was named a Registered National Historic Landmark in 1964.
These are two of the four statues that anchor the corners of the monument, which represent the major armed services commanded by Lincoln during the Civil War - artillery, navy, cavalry, infantry. They were cast in part with metal from 65 cannon donated by the U.S. government.
Access to the tomb is through the ground-level door, shown a couple of pictures above. Lincoln is not actually buried in this Arkansas marble monument, but is ten feet below and slightly behind it, encased in steel and concrete. Mary Lincoln and three of their four sons are also buried here in separate crypts; son Robert is at Arlington.
The obelisk is 117 feet tall; fifteen feet were added during a 1899-1901 renovation.
Lincoln holds the Emancipation Proclamation. Shields below the statuary, each representing a state, ring the monument in a solid chain, symbolizing an undivided nation.
This is a beautiful and dignified monument - highly recommended.
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Thought of the day:
Now he belongs to the ages. (Secretary of War Edwin Stanton)
