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Lincoln flatboat traveling along the Ohio, Mississippi

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 7:27 AM CDT

ROCKPORT, Ind. — A recreation of Abraham Lincoln's 1828 flatboat trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers is getting under way.

The flatboat trip will go from Rockport, Indiana, to New Orleans, and it includes stops in Cave in Rock, Elizabethtown, Cairo and Metropolis in Illinois.

The trip is part of the nation's two-year celebration of Lincoln's life and legacy.

Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809 and spent 14 years of his youth in Indiana.

The 60-foot-long, 25-ton flatboat is scheduled to make a total of 21 stops on its journey before arriving in New Orleans on October 5th.

University of Southern Indiana journalism student Casey McCoy will help write a blog about the trip and because he's 6-foot-4, he'll also portray Lincoln along the way.