-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(virtual)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This virtual cache is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Here you will get to see the Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Illinois Korean War Memorial and Lincolns Tomb. You will also learn a little bit about the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir.
The coordinates above are the starting point.
This second set are for the parking area at Lincolns tomb: N39 49.384 W089 39.392.
This third set are for the receiving vault: N39 49.438 W089 39.343.
There are four questions that you will have to answer that insures that you visited each of these areas. You can go ahead and log the cache but if I don't receive an e-mail with the four correct answers your log will be deleted.
1. Robert C. _____ won the congressional medal of honor, What was his last name?
2. There is a stone marked The Chosin Reservoir how many Navy Crosses and Medals of Honor were given during this war?
3. In the sarcophagus room how many flags surround Lincolns tomb?
4. How many times did the receiving vault get used from 1866-1873?
____________________________________________________________
Oak Ridge Cemetery was dedicated on May 24, 1860, five years before Lincoln's death, just outside the town where Lincoln lived most of his adult life. It is likely that he attended the ceremonies and heard his friend James Conkling deliver the main address.
When Lincoln died in 1865, his Illinois friends immediately sought permission to bury his remains in Springfield. The committee that arranged his Springfield funeral also formed an association to build this tomb, which was dedicated in 1874. In 1895 the association deeded the tomb and surrounding grounds to the State of Illinois.
Lincoln's body first arrived in the cemetery's public receiving vault on the hill below the present tomb. The coffin of his son William, who died in the White House, also rested there. Both had traveled nearly 1,700 miles in a special railroad car by a circuitous route from Washington, D.C.
The 117-foot tall granite tomb contains the bodies of Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of his four sons -- Edward, William and Thomas (Tad). Robert, the oldest son, planned to be buried in this tomb with his parents and brothers. When his own son, Abraham Lincoln II ("Jack") died in 1890, he brought the body to the Lincoln tomb. However, his wife, Mary Harlan Lincoln, chose a gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery instead, where Robert was buried in 1928 and Jack was moved in 1930.
Like other Lincoln sites, the tomb attracts visitors from all over the world, some of whom bring floral tributes. As you drive up, you will see towering oak trees against a gently rolling landscape.
Designed by Vermont sculptor Larkin Mead, the tomb features famous Lincoln statuary. It's worth a visit just to see the sculpture, both inside and out. Visitors often stop to rub the nose of this evocative bronze bust at the entrance. It's the work of Gutzon Borglum, who is most famous for his rendition of Lincoln at Mount Rushmore. You can see the original marble bust in the the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
As you enter the building, you will see bronze statues and excerpts from some Lincoln speeches. A circular hallway leads to the marble burial chamber where Secretary Stanton's famous words command your attention: "Now he belongs to the ages." The terrible human cost of the Civil War has an immediacy here, as if Lincoln died yesterday.
A red marble marker stands above the area where Lincoln's coffin lies. His body actually rests below the floor in a steel and concrete-reinforced vault. This change was made in 1899 when the monument needed reconstruction, partly to deter grave robbers, because an attempt on the body had been made in 1876.
Visiting Information
The Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from March through October and until 4 p.m. from November through February. It is closed on major holidays. If you visit at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings from June through August, you can see a flag-lowering ceremony enacted by volunteers in Civil War uniforms.
The tomb's interior and restrooms are handicapped accessible. Groups of 25 or more should make reservations. Call 217/782-2717 or write: Site Manager, Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL 62702.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)