Was embalming even performed prior to the death of Abraham Lincoln–besides mummification which I guess is embalming only technically?  I know the science of embalming really took off here in the United States after President Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, but before then I was under the impression that, for the most part, they didn't do much to preserve the body after death–just get it in the ground before it started smelling too badly.  I know sometimes people would have the bodies put on ice to slow decomposition during the viewing of the body.  

A quick search on Google turned up a little information.  It looks like the Egyptians and other civilizations practicing mummification were pretty much the ONLY ones embalming anyone up until 700 AD.  The Chinese Han Dynasty has some of the best preserved bodies in the world, but that occurred from 207 BC to 220 AD.  Then there's a big gap in history until the 1700s when the first arterial embalming began to occur.

So I'm guessing that good old Henry wasn't embalmed at all–unless his body was preserved naturally due to low temperatures and other factors which can sometimes prevent decay.