Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural procession took place on March 4, 1861. It began at the Willard Hotel and made its way along Pennsylvania Avenue. According to the article accompanying this print, the arrangements for the procession “as a rule, were bad, the throng pressing upon the Presidential carriage so as to compel it to stop frequently . . . but the sight was very brilliant, and the crowd, enormous.” The moment when the presidential carriage—conveying President-elect Lincoln and outgoing president James Buchanan—passed the Capitol gates is captured in this print.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “The Inaugural Procession at Washington Passing the Gate of the Capitol Grounds,” https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2004/2004-087-006/ (January 19, 2021)
Office of the Historian
Office of Art and Archives
Attic, Thomas Jefferson Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 226-1300
