I was recently at Congressional Cemetery, and talk turned to the question of exhuming bodies. The short answer is that exhuming a body is a long and complicated process, as it should be. From there, we went on to talking about previous exhumations, both legal and illegal. A few stories were offered, and I decided to look into some of them more closely. We will start with probably the least unpleasant: The exhumation and reburial of Vice-President George Clinton.
When Clinton died on April 20, 1812, he was just beginning his eighth year in office, having served four years under Thomas Jefferson and just over three under James Madison. At the time there was great urgency in getting him under ground. Given the lack of methods for preserving the body and the poor state of roads between Washington and New York, there was no question of his being taken home, so they looked closer to the Capitol for a suitable spot.
Fortunately, five years earlier, members of Christ Church had bought a spot of land in the far eastern reaches of the city, and in fact had just a few weeks earlier turned it over to the church, having earned back their original investment through the sale of plots.
Shortly after the cemetery opened, it had the honor of burying Connecticut Senator Uriah Tracy, beginning a long association with federal officeholders who died in Washington. It was therefore hardly a surprise that the decision was made to bury Clinton in this new cemetery.
And so, the day after his death, he was brought to what was to be his final resting spot in a large procession that included President Madison. No less than Benjamin Latrobe designed a monument for his grave, but in the end, a different style was chosen, one whose base was reminiscent of the cenotaphs designed by William Thornton for use over the graves of members of Congress buried in Congressional, but whose top was a tall pyramid.
And that should have been that.
Except almost 100 years later, the city of Kingston NY, decided they wanted him back a part of their 250th anniversary. After all, it was here that Clinton had been sworn in as the first governor of New York back in 1777.
While there must have been some private discussions of their plans –––at least with the descendants of the Vice President, who overwhelmingly approved–– little was made public, and it was only well after the exhumation that the public became aware of what was happening. In fact, the Washington Herald reported that the Commissioners were told about it the day after it had happened, though this may well have simply been a mistake on the part of the newspapers.
By the time everything was settled, they had to move fast, as he was to be re-interred on Memorial Day, less than three weeks later. On May 11, workmen descended on the cemetery and work began. The first step was the removal of the grave marker, a not-insignificant job given its size.
Next week: Finding the body.