This week marks the 150th anniversary of the formal end of the Civil War in 1865.

The news of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Va., on April 9, 1865, reached Natchez four days later. In his diary, Samuel Swain of the 12th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment recorded that Union General John Davidson received an official dispatch at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 13, containing the news of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Swain, who had been put in charge of the construction of Fort McPherson in Natchez, noted that in light of the “glorious news from Washington,” no work was done on the fortification the next day, and on April 15, “the town was splendidly illuminated… the military turned out under arms with torches, banners, mottoes, etc. Speeches were made, 100 guns fired from Fort McPherson and the gunboat Benton and a big time generally [had by all]…”

After four long years of war, Swain observed that even the Natchez Confederates looked tired and — in his opinion — were glad the fighting had stopped. Throughout the country, war-weary citizens on both sides of the conflict reacted with spontaneous celebrations. Throngs took to the streets, shouting, firing guns and cannons, clasping hands and ringing bells; many surely also observed the end of the brutal war in silence and sorrow. Formerly enslaved people, many now wearing the uniform of the Union army, began to fully realize that the institution of slavery was dead and some possibility of autonomy and economic independence lay ahead.

Since 2011, the National Park Service and others have been commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the continuing efforts for civil rights. The National Park Service invites communities across the nation to join in this commemoration, “Bells across the land: A Nation Remembers Appomattox.” Bells will ring at Appomattox at 2:15 p.m. on April 9. The ringing will coincide with the moment the historic meeting between US General Ulysses S. Grant and General Lee in the McLean House ended. While Lee’s surrender did not end the Civil War, the act is seen by most Americans as the symbolic end of four years of bloodshed.

Natchez National Historical Park invites the public to attend a free lecture, “Remembering ‘the Long Civil War,’ 1861-77” by Jim Wiggins, professor of history at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, at 1 p.m, Thursday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 305 S. Commerce St.

At the end of the program, Trinity’s bells will ring out, joining thousands of others across the country and marking the end of the war and the beginning of reconciliation and reconstruction.

Natchez National Historical Park also invites area churches, temples, schools, city halls, public buildings, historic sites, and others to ring bells at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday for four minutes (each minute symbolic of one year of the war).

For more information, contact Jeff Mansell at 601-445-5347.

 

Jeff Mansell is historian of Natchez National Historical Park.