A rare American flag that drapedPresident Abraham Lincoln's casket during his 1865 funeral procession has found a new home, at a Manhattan steakhouse.
Keens Steakhouse, a 141-year-old Midtown restaurant known for its collection of Americana memorabilia, unveiled the 37-star flag during a private ceremony Feb. 12. The half-million-dollar acquisition will be permanently displayed in the restaurant's second-floor Lincoln Room.
The flag is believed to be the only surviving casket flag from Lincoln's funeral train, which carried the slain president's body roughly 1,600 miles from Washington to his burial site in Springfield, Illinois. The solemn journey passed through hundreds of towns in April 1865, including a stop at New York's City Hall.
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Keens said in a Facebook post that it has honored Lincoln's legacy since 1885 and welcomed the historic flag to its "permanent residence" at the restaurant near Herald Square.
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The flag joins an extensive collection of Lincoln artifacts housed upstairs at the restaurant, including political cartoons, a framed copy of the so-called Bixby letter written by Lincoln to a Union widow believed to have lost five sons in the Civil War, and a stained theater program that a nearby article claims Lincoln was holding at Ford's Theatre on the night he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
The addition marks the first major 21st-century acquisition for the Lincoln Room and the first significant update to the collection since at least the 1950s.
"Guests come to Keens not just for a meal, but for a sense of history; and The Abraham Lincoln Casket Flag 1865 is one of the most meaningful artifacts we have ever had the privilege to display," said Julia Lisowski, Keens Steakhouse general manager, in a statement. "Keens has always been a steward of American history, and welcoming this extraordinary piece into our Lincoln Room allows us to honor President Lincoln's legacy in a way that feels both intimate and profound."
Keens, founded in 1885, is known for its white tablecloth dining room, mutton chops and porterhouse steaks and for preserving artifacts tied to presidents, politicians and New York history.
Now, alongside its signature cuts of beef, the restaurant will also serve a piece of Civil War-era history.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com:Abraham Lincoln's funeral flag on display at New York steakhouse
