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Greene Co. to mark historic bell-ringing
May 15, 2015 6:40 am
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The bell rung by the Rev. Henry Bates to proclaim the end of the Civil War. It stands in front of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Oak Hill.
(Source: Greene Co. Historical Society)[/caption]
Tim Blydenburgh is reporting in the Times Union Greene County will next week commemorate a historic bell-ringing that marked the end of the Civil War 150 years ago. On April 10, 1865 the Rev. Henry Howard Bates learned of the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House. Bates was a war veteran and former prisoner of war. He immediately went to the church belfry and tolled the bell for a half hour to bring the news to the people of Oak Hill. That church is now St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Bates’ action will be commemorated as part of Greene County’s closing event marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The program will feature several Civil War re-enactors including Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. A concert by the 77th New York Regimental Balladeers will follow the formal ceremony. The event will take place at 1 p.m., May 23 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Oak Hill.
The bell rung by the Rev. Henry Bates to proclaim the end of the Civil War. It stands in front of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Oak Hill.(Source: Greene Co. Historical Society)[/caption]
Tim Blydenburgh is reporting in the Times Union Greene County will next week commemorate a historic bell-ringing that marked the end of the Civil War 150 years ago. On April 10, 1865 the Rev. Henry Howard Bates learned of the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House. Bates was a war veteran and former prisoner of war. He immediately went to the church belfry and tolled the bell for a half hour to bring the news to the people of Oak Hill. That church is now St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Bates’ action will be commemorated as part of Greene County’s closing event marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The program will feature several Civil War re-enactors including Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. A concert by the 77th New York Regimental Balladeers will follow the formal ceremony. The event will take place at 1 p.m., May 23 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Oak Hill.