Civil War Heritage Day Albany , Menands, Saturday, September 13, 2008 Tours, Music, Events: 10 am - 5 pm Reception and Parade for President Lincoln! 3:00 pm

On February 18, 1861 , Jefferson Davis was sworn in as President of the Confederacy and a celebration was held to mark the establishment of the Confederate States of America. On February 18, 1861 , Abraham Lincoln had been elected President of the but had not yet reached Washington. On February 18, 1861 , Abraham Lincoln was in Albany , New York.

Albany’s Mayor George Thacher met Lincoln at the train station, and they rode in a carriage to the Capitol. As the carriage proceeded down Broadway and turned right to go up State Street, it passed Stanwix Hall, the current residence of John Wilkes Booth. Undoubtedly, Booth watched with almost all of Albany as the new President went by. Another spectator was Clara Harris, daughter of Senator . Clara and her fiancé Major Henry Rathbone would be reunited with President and Mrs. Lincoln at a later encounter with Booth.

On June 7, 1862, in the midst of the war, the Trustees of Albany Rural donated a section named the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Plot. One hundred and forty-nine Civil War Veterans were buried in this plot and at least 600 more were buried in family plots throughout the cemetery. The Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Monument at Albany Rural contains the names of 648 Albany City residents who “ Died in Action.” The bronze plates on the monument were cast from a melted down Civil War cannon.

The schedule for the day will include:

10 am to 2 pm then one at 4 pm: Civil War Walking Tours. The Trolley will pick you up and bring you to the start of the tour. Civil War Soldier Camps will be set up and open to the public.

11:00-11:30; 12-1:00; 2:00-3:00; Memorial Service : The 77 th NY Regimental Balladeers will perform. They are a nationally recognized Civil War music group with several recorded CDs to their credit.

11:30-12; 1:00-2:00; 3:00 Parade: The Excelsior Cornet Band - New York State’s only historically accurate Civil War brass band will perform with authentic instruments of the 1860 period.

11:00 am: Civil War drill, military tactics and weapon firing demonstrations will be given by several participating Civil War Groups including the 5 th NYVI (Duryea’s Zouaves) and the 125 th NYVI and 123 rd NYVI.

1:00 pm: The 55 th Virginia Confederate Infantry will give demonstrations and fire their Civil War cannon.

2:00 pm: The 2nd Battery Vermont Light Artillery will give demonstrations and fire their Civil War cannon.

The 6th NY Cavalry will attend. Camp open and mounted cavalry demonstrations.

Slide Presentations in the Chapel:

10:45 a.m. “A Civil War Tour of the New York State Capitol” by Stuart Lehman

11:45 a.m. “The Making of the USS Monitor” by P. Thomas Carroll

12:45 a.m. “A Civil War Tour of Albany Rural Cemetery” by Mark Bodnar

All Day Displays

The Capital District Civil War Round Table George L. Willard Camp 154 of the Sons of Union Veterans 5th NY Duryea’s Zouaves, 123 rd , 125 th NYVI Sons of Confederate Veterans 55 th Virginia Confederate Infantry Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Dorothy Prentice Civil War Period wagons and carriages by Bob Shuey (ambulance, baggage wagon) Civil War wagons and carriages from the Pruyn House Albany Rural Cemetery Funeral Wagon Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region Exhibit by Paul & Mary Liz Stewart The Capital District Blacksmith’s Association Rope-making Demonstration by Mike Speranza Civil War Period Musical Instruments, Jeff Stockham Commemorative U.S. Postal Service cancellation and cachets State Capitol Display from the Civil War by Stuart Lehman Display of Civil War Weaponry by Bob Shuey Display of Civil War Weaponry by Red Sutton Historical Society of the Town of Colonie, Kevin Franklin 117 th NYV Field Hospital will demonstrate various surgeries during the day, Wayne Waite U.S. Naval Landing Party U.S. Colored Troops, Charles Swain Watervliet Historical Society, Mark Gilchrist Watervliet Arsenal Knowlton Woodworking Sutler, Paul Karabin General George Pickett , Paul Karabin “The Unfinished Work,” Frank Meredith, Civil War novelist Ulysses S. Grant Cottage Contemporary Arts at Woodside

3 pm: Parade and Memorial Service

A reception for President Lincoln, his wife and his law partner Ward Hill Lamon and a Commemorative Service will be conducted at 3:00 pm to honor Civil War dead buried at Albany Rural. The ceremony will include a Civil War Honor Guard, Excelsior Coronet Band, the 77th Regimental Balladeers, The Star Spangled Banner , Chaplain’s Invocation, Civil War history of Albany, President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address , Military Volley Salute and Taps.

For more information call the Cemetery Office: 518-463-7017.

This event is FREE to the public but we request a $5 per car donation for parking to offset our expenses. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Please enter the cemetery from the Broadway entrance (across from the Menands Diner).