Peterboro Prepping For Civil War Weekend

I was delighted that WKTV reports some good news: Peterboro already preparing for Sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

PETERBORO, N.Y. – 1861 marked the beginning of the American Civil War. The 19th Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend Committee plans to include programs that reflect the 150th anniversary of that conflict.

Among the plans in the works: President Lincoln will share his thoughts and feelings upon his March 4 inauguration, a relative of Edmund Ruffin (the man who fired the first shot at Fort Sumter) will share that history, and the Saturday evening concert will include references to 1861.

The annual event will be held in Peterboro Saturday and Sunday, June 11 and 12, 2011.

We are definitely making it to this celebration!

I have written about Gerrit Smith, famed philathropist and abolitionist several times. Smith was THE man most responsible for the abolition movement in Upstate New York, inspired by the preachings of Charles Grandison Finney to “love one another” regardless of skin color and financial situation. It was a remarkable movement for it’s time. You can read about our stop by the estate in Peterboro here. You can read more about his passion here, and Smith’s mysterious admittance to the Lunatic Asylum in Utica here. We also visited the old home of the Higinbotham home in Oneida, NY, close friends of his. Of course, the Civil War was not about slavery exactly (it was about state’s rights, a very relevant issue to this day); slavery was the impetus for the struggle between the states.

According to WKTV, hours for the Saturday, June 11 are 10am to 5pm, and Sunday, and 10am to 4pm for June 11. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for ages 6-12, and free for children under 6 years of age. Admission to the to the special Civil War concert at 8 p.m. may be paid at the door. Parking is free!

Civil War Re-enactment Coming Up!

I love it when I hear about these re-enactment events BEFORE they occur. It seems that I always hear about them in the news after they have happened, and I miss out on all the fun! I’m really hoping to go to this one: the Annual Civil War Weekend in Peterboro, NY.

Peterboro invites everyone to visit and experience what life was like 150 years ago. After visiting the soldier’s camps, enjoy the music, drama, storytelling, and period craft demonstrations. Come for a day, wander through Confederate and Union camps and listen to the stories of the men and women. Watch them drill for the battle. Each afternoon, hear the sound of cannons booming and muskets cracking. The smoke of gun powder will rise as the north and south face off for a very realistic battle reenactment.

There’s a concert on Saturday, too.

This special concert program features the highly acclaimed 77th New York Regimental Balladeers and the Irish Volunteers. It will evoke the memory of those Irishmen who fought in the ranks of the Union and Confederate armies. The 77th is a nationally recognized Civil War string band, and have performed at Gettysburg, the U.S. Grant National Memorial and other historic sites around the country.

Admission is $7 for adults; $3 for ages 6-12, and free for children under 6. Parking is free, too. There’s a separate $5 admission charge for the Saturday 8 p.m. concert at the Community Center. This sounds like a blast! For more information: 315-684-9022.

Gerrit Smith Estate, Peterboro, NY

You may not have heard of Gerrit Smith, but in his day he was the man most responsible for the abolition movement in New York State, and that which later affected the nation. Gerrit Smith was the “Stationmaster” of the Underground Railroad. He attended Charles Finney’s revival services in Utica, NY, an area which later became part of the “Burned Over District,” so called because of its religious zeal and revival fervor. These revivals encouraged Christians to become active in America’s social and political arenas. The Whig party in American politics was formed from this religious movement, as was the abolition movement and the suffrage movement. I’m very surprised the Finney revivals are underplayed in American and New York history (actually, they are completely ignored). They affected New York State and the nation as much as the American Revolution had.

I’ve blogged about Gerrit Smith, as his name has cropped up when we’ve investigated other aspects of NY history. You can read more about him on my post about the Utica Lunatic Asylum and our trip to a conference at the Turning Stone Casino. It was with Gerrit Smith that Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and the infamous John Brown rubbed elbows, and with whom they found financial resources to steal more slaves to the North.

This was once his estate, from 1806 until his death in 1874. The original house burned in a fire, and all that is left is the Land Office he ran. You can read more about the history of his estate and historic Peterboro (named after Gerrit’s father, Peter) here and here.

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