The Lincoln Special is initiating a statewide tour of Indiana that will trace President Abraham Lincoln’s 1865 funeral train procession. The roadshow begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hoosier Gym in Knightstown.
The stop will feature a free, hour-long forum that highlights Lincoln’s life and legacy after his assassination at Ford’s Theater. The event is designed to coincide with the 160th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, which occurs Nov. 19.
The Lincoln Special is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Westfield, Indiana. The organization’s mission is to make sure history’s echoes are heard. Presenting roadshow forums will be Chris Allen, executive director of The Lincoln Special.
“It’s imperative to remind people in Lincoln’s home state that his story didn’t just end at Ford’s Theater,” said Allen. “Even in death, Lincoln’s story continued on, only with us as authors. Every city and town in Indiana that Lincoln’s funeral train stopped at shares an indelible connection to our nation’s story.”
After departing Knightstown, The Lincoln Special will make a stop at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Morrison-Reeves Library in Richmond. Additional stops are planned later this fall in Greenfield, Indianapolis, Lafayette and Michigan City.
“Lincoln’s Funeral Train acted as a zipper that brought hundreds of thousands of people together at this nation’s most fractured point,” Allen said. “His funeral train proved that even in death, this man [Lincoln] could unite people like nothing before or since.” Lincoln’s body arrived in his boyhood home state on April 29, 1865, just 21 days after his assassination at Ford’s Theater in Washington.
“It wasn’t just Lincoln’s remains that came through here,” Allen said. “It was everything Lincoln stood for, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment and the Gettysburg Address that came through here.”
Roadshows will focus on Lincoln’s life and The Lincoln Special’s plans for a major motion picture about the Funeral Train in Indiana. All Roadshows are free and open to the general public.
For more information about The Lincoln Special, visit www.tearsandiron.com or call (317) 967.6190.