New York, Lincoln and the Civil War

New York helped propel Abraham Lincoln onto the national stage, and his presidency and legacy have deep ties to the state.  His speech at New York City's Cooper Union transformed him into a compelling candidate for president.  New Yorkers were leaders in America's anti-slavery movement that set the stage for the Civil War, and the state provided more money and soldiers to the war than any other, including Lincoln's General-in-Chief.  The 1865 funeral train carrying Lincoln's slain body brought out tens of thousands of mourners both for public viewings in New York City, Albany and Buffalo, and all along the train route as well.  

150 years later, New York's Path Through History is ready to take visitors to sites pivotal to Lincoln and his times: 

• Visit the homes and final resting places of New Yorkers key to the Civil War and its lead up, like Underground Railroad Conductor Harriet Tubman, abolitionist John Brown, Lincoln's Secretary of State and confidant William H. Seward, and Union Army General Ulysses S. Grant.
• Discover how New York industry and technology played a vital role in the Civil War at places like the Burden Iron Works, Brooklyn Navy Yard and West Point Foundry.
• Explore the New York homes of famous Americans whose work was inspired by Lincoln, like Theodore Roosevelt and Walt Whitman.
• Visit the special exhibit, including the flag that laid on President Lincoln's coffin, at the NYS Capitol dedicated to Lincoln's memory and the contributions New York made to the Union effort and the Civil War.