August 2025 Program
"A Carnival of Grief"
The Lincoln Funeral Train in Pennsylvania
by Scott Mingus

Watch the recorded presentation here.

The funeral train carrying the remains of the slain President Abraham Lincoln passed through the commonwealth of Pennsylvania on April 21-22, 1865, on its way to New York City, and again on April 28 as it headed west from Buffalo to Cleveland and passed through the Erie region. Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians passed by the coffin as Lincoln lay in state in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Massive, untold numbers of residents watched the funeral train slowly steam past their farms, small towns, communities, and whistle stops. Many onlookers left personal reminiscences. Author Scott Mingus will discuss the funeral train, including its two stops here in York County.

Scott Mingus, a retired scientist and executive in the global pulp & paper industry, holds patents in self-adhesive postage stamps and bar code labels. He was part of the research team that developed the first commercially successful self-adhesive U.S. postage stamps. He has written 28 Civil War and Underground Railroad books. His biography of Confederate General William “Extra Billy” Smith was nominated for or won multiple awards, including the Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. Literary Prize. He also wrote several articles for Gettysburg Magazine and other journals. Scott maintains a blog on the Civil War history of York County PA (www.yorkblog.com/cannonball) and received the Heritage Profile Award from the York County History Center for his many contributions to local Civil War history. He also has written six scenario books on miniature wargaming and was elected to the hobby’s prestigious Legion of Honor. His great-great-grandfather was a 15-year-old drummer boy in the 51st Ohio Infantry, and other family members fought in the Army of the Potomac at Antietam and Gettysburg.