The University of Mary Washington will join communities across the country in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the surrender at Appomattox by ringing the campanile bells on the Fredericksburg campus, April 9.
The ringing of the bells commemorates the surrender that marked the beginning of the end of the Civil War. The Appomattox Courthouse will lead the bell ringing at 3 p.m., followed by UMW and other area organizations ringing their bells at 3:15 p.m. Bells will ring for four minutes, each minute representing a year of the Civil War. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia also will ring.
The surrender at the Appomattox Court House took place on April 9, 1865. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was surrounded by the Union soldiers, led by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Unable to escape and not wanting to risk unnecessary loss, Lee surrendered to the Union, a historic moment that led to the end of the Civil War.
UMW will ring the Carmen Culpeper Chappell Centennial Campanile, which was dedicated in May 2007 to honor the Carmen Culpeper Chappell, a 1959 alumna and wife of John Chappell who honored her with the iconic 88-foot-tall tower.
Jeff McClurken, professor of history and American studies and special assistant to the provost for teaching, technology and innovation, said the surrender at the Appomattox marked the beginning of emancipation, a milestone that changed the United States.
“Millions of Americans were going to be freed who weren’t free before 1861,” said McClurken, who has written the book Take Care of the Living: Reconstruction of Confederate Veteran Families in Virginia about the aftermath of the Civil War.
The event is organized by the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. For more information, contact Frank_O’Reilly@ns.gov.