Relatives of Billy Smith and Michigan Governor Aaron Bliss assemble in 2014 at the Civil War statue donated by Bliss to his hometown of Peterboro. This will be the site at which the 2015 Processional Honoring Civil War Veterans will be held.
(Peterboro, NY – June 2015) 150 years ago the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865 relieved the United States of war, but within the week many were mourning the loss of President Lincoln whose design it was to heal the nation. 2015 Peterboro Heritage programs will feature Sesquicentennial events commemorating the end of the Civil War, the death of Lincoln, veterans of the Civil War, and the Civil Rights legacy of Lincoln.
April 9, 1865: Surrender at Appomattox
Patrick Schroeder, Historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Virginia, will present Surrender at Appomattox at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 13 at the Smithfield Community Center (5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro). Schroeder will describe the events and terms of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender of the Northern Army of Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant. The program covers how the surrender meeting came about at that location, the personalities, primary source accounts, and details of the meeting that effectively closed the war and reunited the Nation. Schroeder will also explain the 2015 activities at the national park during the Sesquicentennial year of the surrender. At the Appomattox Park Schroeder also does a first-person, living history program as George T. Peers, “The Appomattox Ambassador” who was the former sheriff and county clerk in the county.Admission is a Lincoln bill for adults and a Lincoln coin for students. The program is free to Civil War reenactors and volunteers, and Saturday Civil War Weekend visitors with hand stamps.
April 15, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln Dies
The body of the President was carried on the Lincoln funeral train from Washington to Springfield IL where Lincoln’s funeral was held May 4, 1865. During the 23rd Annual 
Peterboro Civil War Weekend June 13 and 14, Harold and Jan Reichard will exhibit their large collection of artifacts and information on Lincoln’s funeral. The Reichards have collected Civil War items for many years as they have developed this large special display. Articles in the Reichard exhibit range from Jan’s piece of lace on Mary Lincoln’s mourning dress to a reproduction of Lincoln’s funeral casket made by Harold. Their total collection is rarely displayed all at once.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, June 13 Edward Clarke, Binghamton third grader, will recite O Captain! My Captain! Walt Whitman’s poem written in November 1865 expressing the sorrow of Lincoln, the Captain, “fallen cold and dead.” Ted will present in the Lincoln Funeral exhibit at the Smithfield Community Center.
July 10, 1865:157thVeterans Muster Out
Throughout 1865 military units mustered out of service. The 157th New York Infantry Regiment mustered out July 10, 1865, after organizing September 19, 1862 in Hamilton NY primarily from towns in Chenango, Cortland, and Madison counties. The 157th will be the military lead in the Processional Honoring Civil War Veterans at 10:30 lineup on Saturday, June 13. Interested persons are encouraged to walk in the short processional that will begin on the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and walk to the Civil War statue donated by Michigan Governor Aaron Bliss, a Civil War soldier from Peterboro who escaped Confederate prison camps with the aid of an ex-slave who came to Peterboro. (Persons unable to manage the walk may assemble directly at the statue.) Walkers are also encouraged to install a small 35 star flag (available at the event) and fresh flowers with Civil War veterans’ names at the base of the statue. The procession will be led by Jack Baylis as President Lincoln, escorted by The Young Abolitionists-United States Colored Troops reenactors from the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence Underground Railroad site in Albany. Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War will follow as well as others who join in as they arrive. The procession will include Scott Seymour driving a Morrisville State College team pulling the facsimile of Lincoln’s casket crafted by Harold Reichard. The 12th United States Infantry Reenactment Regiment of Syracuse and the Civil War Heritage Foundation, military reenactment hosts of the event, will conclude the procession and conduct the brief quiet memorial service at the Civil War statue under the new command of Neil MacMillan.
Historical organizations that study the Civil War and its Veterans will exhibit during the weekend: The Binghamton Civil War Historical Society and Round Table with membership from Broome and contiguous counties in south central New York State and part of northeastern Pennsylvania will exhibit copy photos and other glimpses of local solders and military units, and the roles some of them played in the war. Depictions include some regional civilian and military notables, and touch upon the importance of the railroads that carried soldiers, munitions and supplies in the area. The Capital District Civil War Round Table has a large exhibit of memorabilia and items for sale that benefit Civil War battlefields throughout the nation. Postal cancellations and cachets, many of which are for sale, are also on display. In 2006 the Capital CWRT was selected as the Civil War Round Table of the Year by the Civil War Preservation Trust. The Daughters of Union Veterans will participate again with records and activities. The Onondaga County Civil War Round Table from Syracuse area will once again be on hand.
December 6, 1865: Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which formally abolished slavery in the United States, was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865. J. Thomas Hogle PhD, Morrisville State College will explain the importance of the 13th Amendment in his annual Constitution Day address Friday, September 18, 2015 at Morrisville. The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum continues with the Lincoln legacy during its Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator October 23 – 25, 2015 including Lincoln, the film and discussion, at the Cazenovia Public Library Thursday, September 24 at 6:30 pm, The Excelsior Cornet Band Concert Friday, October 23, and on Saturday, October 24 a panel on The Emancipation of Abraham Lincoln: Head, Heart, and the American Memory. The evening keynote address by Harold Holzer, President of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, will be Lincoln and the Abolition Press: An American Evolution.
The Peterboro Civil War Weekend is an educational and fund-raising event of the Smithfield Community Association (501c3) based on the Gerrit Smith-John Brown relationship which helped ignite the Civil War. Admission ($8: Adults, $3: 6-12 years, Free: Under 6) covers weekend activities (except food).
Volunteers and reenactors are needed and encouraged to contact 315-280-8828 or mail@sca-peterboro.org for information. Check updates at civilwarweekend.sca-peterboro.org or contact 315-280-9928.