During my recent visit to Springfield, Illinois, I visited Oak Ridge Cemetery where President Abraham Lincoln was buried after his assassination in Washington DC in April 1865. 

His tomb is located about 7 miles northwest from his home shown on the Abraham Lincoln's Home page.  Lincoln's funeral procession marched past his home on its way to this cemetery.

Upon arrival at the cemetery, his body was laid in the "public receiving vault" at the bottom of a hill behind the permanent tombs.

As I stood in front of this vault, I remembered a history book I had as a child which showed two Union soldiers posted at parade rest on either side of the vault's doorway shortly after the burial. 

A short distance away, on the side of a memorial bell tower, this tablet is preserved which states it held the mortal remains of Abraham Lincoln when he was placed in the receiving vault.  The elements have taken a great toll on the engraving as the depth of the letters starts to disappear as you go further down the tablet from the top.

After looking at this tablet, I concluded it must have been used to cover the open doorway to the receiving vault since it states it held the "mortal remains" of President Lincoln.  If you look at the front of the receiving vault, it looks as if this tablet could fit right in the entrance opening.

From when President Lincoln was laid in the receiving vault until he was buried in the permanent tomb, his body was moved more than a dozen times.  At one point, it was removed from the receiving vault and buried in a temporary vault at the site of this marker while the permanent tomb, in the background, was built in 1900. 

 Again, the elements are taking a toll.  The engraving is just about missing from this stone. 

If you look closely behind the stone's right corner, you'll see a small window at the rear of the tomb.  This is a stained glass window which looks out from the interior rotunda of the Lincoln mausoleum. 

The horizontal bar across the wrought iron gate reads "A. Lincoln".  The gate reaches the ground, but you'll notice the doorway is really just a pseudo-opening as it is closed in with granite blocks.

When you enter the Lincoln Tomb, you walk down marble-lined hallways until you come to a rotunda where the President is buried beneath the red marble marker.  Mrs. Lincoln and all but one of their children are buried in the wall opposite the President.  A remaining child is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. 

The flags on the left half of the rotunda represent the states from which his ancestors came, namely Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia while the flags on the right hand side represent the states of Kentucky and Illinois, where he lived and the Presidential flag.