"Lincoln's Tomb" - R.I.P.
Monday, 19 March; 424am.
Cindy VanHorn, Registrar and Library Assistant at the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was the first to alert me to an article in the Des Moines Register regarding Stealing Lincoln’s Body by Thomas J. Craughwell (Belknap Press of Harvard Press, 250 pages, $24.95).
According to the article, “[Craughwell’s] story begins in Washington, D.C., at the president's deathbed on April 15, 1865, and ends with Lincoln's final burial on Sept. 26, 1901, in a steel cage under a concrete bunker in Springfield, Ill.
“By the end, the martyred president had been laid to rest a half-dozen times. Twice, in 1887 and 1901, the inner lead lining of Lincoln's casket was peeled back for identification purposes by members of a secret society that was created to guard Lincoln's body following after the failed grave robbery.”
As my book sounded suspiciously like Craughwell’s, it made sense to temporarily suspend substantive research until I had a better idea what I was up against. Clearly, if Craughwell’s book only glanced over the topics I hoped to cover in Lincoln’s Tomb, then continuing with my own research made sense. If not, not.
Despite several websites reporting the book wouldn't be released until the first of April, I spied a copy at Barnes and Noble on Sunday night, 18 March; began reading about 9pm and, with a few starts and stops, finished about 330am Monday.
First of all, let me say that I cannot recommend Stealing Lincoln’s Body highly enough. As I explained in an email to Cindy VanHorn this morning, the book is well researched, well written, thoughtful, and thorough; I would recommend it to anyone and hope that a large number of people within the reach of these words will buy a copy. I have no substantive complaint with the thing.
Cindy VanHorn, Registrar and Library Assistant at the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was the first to alert me to an article in the Des Moines Register regarding Stealing Lincoln’s Body by Thomas J. Craughwell (Belknap Press of Harvard Press, 250 pages, $24.95).
According to the article, “[Craughwell’s] story begins in Washington, D.C., at the president's deathbed on April 15, 1865, and ends with Lincoln's final burial on Sept. 26, 1901, in a steel cage under a concrete bunker in Springfield, Ill.
“By the end, the martyred president had been laid to rest a half-dozen times. Twice, in 1887 and 1901, the inner lead lining of Lincoln's casket was peeled back for identification purposes by members of a secret society that was created to guard Lincoln's body following after the failed grave robbery.”
As my book sounded suspiciously like Craughwell’s, it made sense to temporarily suspend substantive research until I had a better idea what I was up against. Clearly, if Craughwell’s book only glanced over the topics I hoped to cover in Lincoln’s Tomb, then continuing with my own research made sense. If not, not.
Despite several websites reporting the book wouldn't be released until the first of April, I spied a copy at Barnes and Noble on Sunday night, 18 March; began reading about 9pm and, with a few starts and stops, finished about 330am Monday.
First of all, let me say that I cannot recommend Stealing Lincoln’s Body highly enough. As I explained in an email to Cindy VanHorn this morning, the book is well researched, well written, thoughtful, and thorough; I would recommend it to anyone and hope that a large number of people within the reach of these words will buy a copy. I have no substantive complaint with the thing.
But it also renders my book wholly useless, so all work on Lincoln’s Tomb will conclude today, Monday, 19 March.
posted by Brian S. Wise | 8:38 AM
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