Lincoln's public funeral in Washington was held on April 19, 1865. Whitman biographer Jerome Loving believes that Whitman did not attend the public ceremonies for Lincoln in Washington as he did not leave Brooklyn for the nation's capital until April 21. Likewise, Whitman could not have attended ceremonies held in New York after the arrival of the funeral train, as they were observed on April 24. Loving thus suggests that Whitman's descriptions of the funeral procession, public events and the long train journey may have been "based on second-hand information". He does accede that Whitman in his journey from New York to Washington may have passed the Lincoln funeral train on its way to New York—possibly in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.