Flag retreat ceremony February 12 at Lincoln Tomb will feature Civil War soldiers

One lucky visitor will go home with the flag that flew over Lincoln Tomb on Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday

SPRINGFIELD -- One visitor will leave Lincoln Tomb with a flag on February 12, 2009. But it won't be just any U.S. flag - it will be the flag that flew over the 16th President's final resting place on his 200th birthday.

A touching, colorful flag lowering and retreat ceremony performed by Civil War era soldiers will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, February 12 at Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery. The ceremony will be performed by members of the 114th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry Reactivated, and the half hour program is free and open to the public.

The United States flag flying over Lincoln Tomb that day will be lowered during the colorful, solemn ceremony and presented to a visitor chosen at random. The ceremony will include period music and the firing of a Civil War era mortar.

The original 114th Regiment was mustered into service at Springfield's Camp Butler in 1862 and fought in the Civil War until 1865. The regiment was reactivated in 1969 to foster patriotism and to bring Illinois' historic past alive for the public.

Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is located in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery. It is open for free public tours.