Full Title

Funeral Dirge of President Lincoln

Description

Funeral dirge composed in honor of Abraham Lincoln's funeral. Composed for solo piano. Part of the Library of Congress Civil War Sheet Music Collection.

Source

Library of Congress Classification M20.C59R

Rights

Public Domain. Suggested credit line: Civil War Sheet Music Collection, Library of Congress, Music Division.

Tags

Cite this Item

Rynder, Rose. "Funeral Dirge of President Lincoln". Philadelphia: Marsh & Bubna, 1866. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1023

Creator

Rynder, Rose

Publisher

Philadelphia: Marsh & Bubna, 1866

Date

1866

Full Title

Lincoln's requiem

Description

Lincoln's requiem was composed for chorus (mixed voices, 4 parts) and piano. Associated with the Union side, the song mourns President Lincoln's death and praises his legacy as an advocate for freedom and liberty. The lyrics consist of five verses and a refrain. Part of the Library of Congress Civil War Sheet Music Collection.

Transcription

Verse:
Dead! dead! how swift the dire news flies,
And wakes a nation's agonies!
From town to town, from mouth to mouth
Swift spreads the dreaded message forth;
In lowly cot, in lordly hall,
This grief enshrouds and covers all.
And on the breast drops ev'ry head,
In sorrow for the noble dead.

Chorus:
Oh, weep for fallen greatness! weep!
Let tears express our woes;
But while our Lincoln's soul doth sleep,
Brave men strike down his foes!

Verse:
Dead! dead! but not as warriors die,
He fell not shouting battle cry--
Not in the open light of heavn'--
Not in his home his soul was risen--
Not on the plain where hand to hand
The brave cross blade with foemen's brand,
But where the waves of pleasure flow,
Death aim'd his shaft thro' secret foe. [Chorus]

Verse:
Dead! dead! and now when hopes were high,
And wars dread curse was passing by,
When traitors had their madness stay'd,
And hero hands sheathed vegeful blade,
When homes and hearthstones gleamd afar,
To manly hearts grown tired of war,
And long wooed peace had left the sky,
It was no time for him to die. [Chorus]

Verse:
Dead! dead! and when the millions free
Sent up their shouts of liberty,
When from the depths of bondage wrung,
Sweet freedoms song, by freedmen sung,
When million hearts their thanks out pour'd
And angel ears in pleasure heard,
When words his hand has trac'd live on
It is not meet to mourn him gone. [Chorus]

Verse:
Dead! dead! and has he died in vain?
Shall we in lethargy remain?
His years of patriot toil forget
Shall unavenged his life sun set?
No! for this blow in treach'ry given,
The smoke of strife shall rise to heav'n,
And 'till our flag in triumph waves
His foes and ours find bloody graves! [Chorus]

Source

Library of Congress Classification M1640.B

Rights

Public Domain. Suggested credit: Civil War Sheet Music Collection, Library of Congress, Music Division.

Tags

Cite this Item

Butterfield, J. A. (composer); Boynton, Irene (lyricist). "Lincoln's requiem". Chicago: H. M. Higgins, 1865. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1021

Creator

Butterfield, J. A. (composer); Boynton, Irene (lyricist)

Publisher

Chicago: H. M. Higgins, 1865

Date

1865

Full Title

In memoriam, A. Lincoln

Description

"In memoriam, A Lincoln" was composed by Gertrude I. Ladd. The ballad is set for voice and piano in English. It contains two verses of lyrics that discuss President Lincoln's assassination as a sacrifice for freedom in the United States. Part of the Library of Congress Civil War Sheet Music Collection.

Transcription

Within the nations heart today,
In honor brightly set,
There lives a cherish'd memory
That buddeth greenly yet
And ever will time cannot change
The love which death has made
Sacred to all, yet to become
The people's heritage.

But words are ever weak for praise,
There is no need to dwell
Upon the strong and tender heart
That all could read so well;
Always for worthy victories won
Is paid a costly price,
Then freedom at her need has had
A worthy sacrafice.

Source

Library of Congress Classification M1640.L

Rights

Public Domain. Suggested credit line: Civil War Sheet Music Collection, Library of Congress, Music Division.

Tags

Cite this Item

Ladd, Gertrude I. . "In memoriam, A. Lincoln". New York: C. M. Tremaine, 1866. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1020

Creator

Ladd, Gertrude I.

Publisher

New York: C. M. Tremaine, 1866

Date

1866

Material

sheet music

Full Title

Philadelphia Funeral Procession Details

Description

This document describes the arrangement of the funeral procession that accompanied Abraham Lincoln's body while in Philadelphia. The text describes the street routes of the procession, the logistics of moving from Independence Hall for the viewing to Christ Church for the religious funeral services, and the order, formation, and conduct of the procession.

Source

The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia (Object ID: XI.2.1963.3.1)

Rights

Use of this item for research, teaching and private study is permitted with proper citation and attribution, as “Courtesy of The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia.” Reproduction of this item for publication, broadcast or commercial use requires written permission. For permission, please contact The Abraham Lincoln Foundation.

Tags

Cite this Item

Unknown. "Philadelphia Funeral Procession Details". Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1010

Creator

Unknown

Material

Ink and paper

Full Title

Union League of Philadelphia Funeral Invitation Ticket

Description

President Lincoln's funeral procession traveled from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois. When the procession stopped in Philadelphia, members of the Union League received the President's body at Independence Hall before the public viewing on April 23.

Source

The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia (Object ID: XI.2.004)

Rights

Use of this item for research, teaching and private study is permitted with proper citation and attribution, as “Courtesy of The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia.” Reproduction of this item for publication, broadcast or commercial use requires written permission. For permission, please contact The Abraham Lincoln Foundation.

Tags

Cite this Item

Union League of Philadelphia. "Union League of Philadelphia Funeral Invitation Ticket". Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1007

Creator

Union League of Philadelphia

Date

April 22, 1865

Material

Ink and Paper

Full Title

A Sermon, Occasioned by the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States

Description

Sermon preached by Pliny H. White at Coventry, Vermont. Whine opens his remarks by addressing the severity of the loss of President Lincoln, the first president ever assassinated. He praises Lincoln for his personal virtues, public service, and personal magnetism. He also compares the death of Lincoln to other rulers in history and religious leaders like Moses, and what Scripture says on how to mourn such losses. Whine hopes that the sermon today will help pay respects to the fallen president, seek consolation and consider current duties in the face of turmoil. During the 19th century, it became popular to publish sermons in newspapers and magazines. Both the Union and the Confederacy reported increased religious fervor during the war. "Abraham Lincoln struggled personally with trying to understand the war in religious terms. Many, including Lincoln, came to see the war as a punishment for disunity and religious failures. A powerful theme of the sermons is the providence of God. Many people viewed Lincoln as a martyr, and often he was compared to Moses, Abraham, and George Washington. Lincoln's assassination took place on Good Friday, so most sermons about his death occurred that following Sunday at services." - The Martyred President, Emory University Libraries.

Transcription

Transcript available on The Martyred President: Sermons Given on the Occasion of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Source

Emory University Libraries

Rights

This item is in the public domain. As a service to other researchers, we request that users credit the Emory University Libraries as the source.

Tags

Cite this Item

Pliny H. White. "A Sermon, Occasioned by the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States". The Vermont Record Office. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/992

Creator

Pliny H. White

Publisher

The Vermont Record Office

Date

April 23, 1865

Full Title

O Captain! My Captain!

Description

Autograph document signed by Walt Whitman, containing stanzas from “O Captain! My Captain!”, Whitman’s elegy to Lincoln. The poet submitted this document to Charles Aldrich for his collection of autographs, which he donated to the State of Iowa in 1884. Aldrich was the first curator of the State Historical Department of Iowa, now the State Historical Society of Iowa. Although Whitman composed the poem in 1865, the date of this autograph is unknown.

Transcription

O Captain! my Captain!

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, The prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, The people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, The venel grim and daring;

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.



O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up ­ for you the flag is flung ­ for you the bugle trills,

For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths ­ for you the shores a crowding,

For you they call, The swaying man, Their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head!

It is some dream that on the deck,

You’ve fallen cold and dead.



My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,

The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

Exult O shores and ring O bells!

But I with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.



Walt Whitman

with best wishes prayers & love for the people of Iowa ­- WW



[Transcription team:

Megan O., Laney R., Kiersten T., Alexis W.

New Hampton Middle School, New Hampton, Iowa]

Source

Charles Aldrich Autograph Collection, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines

Rights

Use of this item for research, teaching and private study is permitted with proper citation, and attribution. Reproduction of this item for publication, broadcast or commercial use requires written permission. for permission, please contact State Historical Society of Iowa.

Tags

Cite this Item

Whitman, Walt. "O Captain! My Captain!". Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/938

Creator

Whitman, Walt

Date

unknown