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Thrust into the presidency upon Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson served a single term largely occupied with the reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. The first president to be impeached, he was acquitted in the Senate by just one vote. Andrew Johnson was not renominated by his party for a second term, but he was welcomed home with honors to Greeneville, Tennessee. He remained active in Democratic Party politics, campaigning on behalf of other candidates and even seeking further elective office himself. In 1874, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, the only former president to serve there.

Andrew Johnson’s tomb

A cholera epidemic devastated much of the southern United States in 1873. Andrew Johnson caught the disease and recovered, but never fully regained his strength. In June of that year, sensing he was failing, he wrote, “I have performed my duty to my God, my country, and my family. I have nothing to fear in approaching death. To me it is the mere shadow of God’s protecting wing.”

On July 28, 1875, Johnson and his wife were visiting their daughter in Carter County, Tennessee, when he suffered a stroke that left his right side paralyzed. He regained consciousness the next day, but refused to seek the treatment of a doctor or the comfort of a minister. The following day he suffered a second stroke which left him unable to speak. Surrounded by family, Johnson died at his daughter’s home on July 31, 1875. His body was placed in a simple pine casket packed with ice to counter the sun’s sweltering rays. A public forum was held that evening in Nashville for citizens to express their condolences.

Johnson’s body was taken to lie in state at the Greeneville courthouse on August 2. The town, including Johnson’s old tailor shop, was draped in black. At his request, Johnson’s body was wrapped in the American flag, his head rested on a copy of the Constitution. His body had already begun to decompose in the extreme heat, so the casket remained closed. Tennessee Governor James Porter was among the dignitaries who paid their respects. In cities across the country, federal offices were closed and flags were flown at half mast in Johnson’s honor.

The next day under cloudy skies, five thousand people and a small honor guard escorted the casket to his gravesite where a simple Masonic funeral service was held. Andrew Johnson was buried on top of a hill on land he owned in Greeneville. He chose the site himself, marking it with a seedling reportedly taken from a willow tree near Napoleon’s St. Helena deathbed. His wife Eliza was buried beside him when she died six months later.

Touring the Tomb at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site

Andrew Johnson’s gravesite is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, Tennessee. The site is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Admission to the gravesite is free, and includes a guided tour of the homestead. Visitors under age eighteen or over sixty-one are admitted to the homestead for free.

To reach the site from the north: Take Interstate 81 South to exit 36, then Route 172 South to Greeneville. Follow the signs to the visitors center, located at the corner of College and Depot Streets in Greeneville.

From the south: Take Interstate 81 North to exit 23, then Route 11E north to Greeneville. Follow the signs to the visitor center, located at the corner of College and Depot Streets in Greeneville.

To reach the cemetery from the visitor’s center, go north on College Street to McKee Street. Turn east on McKee Street. Take McKee Street to Main Street. From Main Street, head south two blocks, and turn left on Monument Avenue. The cemetery is at the top of Monument Avenue.

At the cemetery entrance, turn right. Take the road up the hill. President Johnson’s gravesite is located on top of the hill and is designated with a large, white landmark.

This plaque at the Andrew Johnson National Historic site tells the