EMANCIPATION DAYS 2013 August 3 & 4, 2013 GERRIT SMITH ESTATE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK 5304 Oxbow Road, Peterboro NY 13134

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1 EMANCIPATION DAYS 2013 August 3 & 4, 2013 GERRIT SMITH ESTATE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK 5304 Oxbow Road, Peterboro NY info@gerritsmith.org Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation 150th Anniversary of the Recruitment of United States Colored Troops th With the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863, President Lincoln authorized the recruiting of African American soldiers in the Union Army. 100th Anniversary of death of Harriet Tubman. (NYS is commemorating Tubman in 2013) 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. s I Have a Dream speech in Washington D.C. Admission $5 Adults Registration for Emancipation Days (Programs for August 3 and 4, 2014) Free for students, stewards, & people registered for Emancipation Days signified by wearing name tag. GSENHL and NAHOF will be open for free to registered Emancipation Day participants. Saturday, August 3, :30 Morning reception and registration 10:00 Annual Tent Meeting 11:45 Cemetery Procession: Wreaths Laid for Freedom Seeker and Gerrit Smith 35 Star Flags Honor African-Americans Who Served in Civil War Lunch on Own Deli on the Green is preparing pulled pork and homemade Italian sausage sandwiches, salads, beverages and more! 2:00 Boss Billy, Gerrit Smith and Honest Abe: NY Acquires the Emancipation Proclamation: Paul Mercer NYS Museum 3:15 Men of Color to Arms! Recognizing and Remembering Peterboro s Black Civil War Soldiers: Donna Burdick, Town Historian Sunday, August 4, :00 Trumpets at the Walls of Jericho: Blayne Whitfield and Ruth Hill, Relatives of 3:30 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry Chaplain Samuel Harrison, show film and speak in Peterboro The Sable Arm of the Republic: Black Troops in the Union Army : Tom Hogle, PhD. Morrisville State College and Veteran Community Panel follows to discuss impact, if any, of the movie Glory on awareness of role of United States Colored Troops in the Civil War. For the fourth time in the 21st Century Peterboro Emancipation Day will be held to commemorate the 20th Century celebration of the 19th Century emancipation of slaves. Descendents and friends of families of freedomseekers will begin to gather at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark

2 at 9:30 on Saturday, August 3 for the 10:00 Annual Tent Meeting followed by the group photo and the procession to the Peterboro Cemetery to lay wreaths at the graves of a freedom seeker and abolitionist Gerrit Smith. This year, in honor of the Sesquicentennial of the recruitment of the United States Colored Troops, 35 star flags will be carried and placed at the graves of African-Americans who served in the Civil War. EMANCIPATION DAYS 2013 August 3 & 4, 2013 GERRIT SMITH ESTATE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK 5304 Oxbow Road, Peterboro NY info@gerritsmith.org GSENHL Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark Smithfield Community Center FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2013 TIME 6:30 pm 7:30 pm LOC ATI ON PRESENTER(S) (MODERATORS ) TITLE DESCRIPTOR Film: The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry Film: Glory SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013 TIME LOCATION 9:30 am GSENH L GSENH L 10:00 am 11:45 2 pm 3:15 PRESENTER(S) (MODERATORS ) Martin TITLE Reception and Registration Corpin Smith Paul Mercer NYS Library Donna Dorrance Burdick Town of Smithfield/Haml et of Peterboro Historian Annual Tent Meeting Procession to Cemetery Boss Billy, Gerrit Smith and Honest Abe: New York Acquires the Emancipation Proclamation Men of Color to Arms! Recognizing and Remembering Peterboro s Black Civil War Soldiers SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 2013 TIME LOCATION 8:00 am 9:00 am PRESENTER(S) (MODERATORS) TITLE Film: The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry Film: Glory

3 1 pm 2 pm 3:00 3:45 Samuel Harrison Society Pittsfield Mass Blayne Whitfield Ruth Edmunds Hill Tom Hogle, PhD Trumpets at the Walls of Jericho Samuel Harrison: Peterboro to Glory The Sable Arm of the Republic Panel Boss Billy, Gerrit Smith and Honest Abe: New York State Acquires Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation Paul Mercer, M.A., M.L.S, Senior Librarian, Manuscripts and Special Collections at the New York State Library in Albany, NY At 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 3 at the Smithfield Community Center, Paul Mercer will present Boss Billy, Gerrit Smith and Honest Abe: New York Acquires the Emancipation Proclamation. The New York State Legislature purchased the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation from famed abolitionist Gerrit Smith in 1865, shortly after Abraham Lincoln s funeral train passed through Albany. Smith had won the priceless artifact in a lottery held at the Albany Relief Bazaar in the winter of How it came to Albany, and eventually to the New York State Library, is a tale of politics and patriotism, redolent of the city's storied history as the capital of New York State. Learn about Smith, The Bazaar, and the shadowy political boss, William Barnes, whose behind-the-scenes maneuvers brought the proclamation to the Library. Paul Mercer, M.A., M.L.S, Senior Librarian, Manuscripts and Special Collections at the New York State Library in Albany will tell this story through words and pictures drawn from the Library's special collections. This program is supported by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lincoln presented the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet on September 22, 1862, and announced and signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, In 1864 Lincoln donated the document to the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which raffled it off at the Albany Relief Bazaar to help raise money for the Union war effort. Abolitionist Gerrit Smith won the raffle after buying 1,000 tickers at $1 apiece. Smith then sold the document to the New York State Legislature with the funds going to the Sanitary

4 Commission. The Legislature, in turn, deposited the document in the New York State Library, where it remains today. (First Steps to Freedom: NYS Library) In the autumn of 2012 the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation made an historic journey to eight cities in New York State for exhibits in each municipality. The New York State Library gave a facsimile of that proclamation to the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro where it is on display. Pamphlets from the 2012 traveling exhibit, The First Step to Freedom: Abraham Lincoln s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation will be distributed to attendees. Envelopes with a postal cachet of The First Step to Freedom and with a United States Postal Service cancellation honoring the United States Colored Troops from the Emancipation Station at the 21 st Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend are available at the Peterboro Mercantile and online at mercantile.gerritsmith.org. Copies of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and the Emancipation Proclamation are also available at the Mercantile.

5 Donna Dorrance Burdick, Town of Smithfield historian receives recognition from Jim Corpin and Alden Max Smith, Co-chairs of Emancipation Days 2011, for her research on African-American families who lived in Peterboro. Men of Color To Arms! Recognizing and Remembering Peterboro's Black Civil War Soldiers Donna Dorrance Burdick Historian, Town of Smithfield Men of Color to Arms! Recognizing and Remembering Peterboro's Black Civil War Soldiers Saturday, August 3, 2013 at 3:15 pm in Peterboro NY, Smithfield Town Historian Donna Burdick will talk about the twelve African-American soldiers from Peterboro who served in the Civil War, with details on their units and experiences in battle, as well as the families they left at home. Six of these men are buried in Peterboro and Burdick will also discuss the other six veterans whose service is credited to the Town of Smithfield. Men of Color To Arms! Recognizing and Remembering Peterboro's Black Civil War Soldiers will be followed by a question and answer period. Donna Burdick has been the Smithfield Town Historian for 18 years. While serving as research chair of the Madison County Freedom Trail Commission during Madison County's Bicentennial celebration in 2006, she became interested in learning more about the African-American soldiers who served from Smithfield during the Civil War. She wanted to call attention to the lives and experiences of the black soldiers, whose contributions often seem to have been forgotten. Donna is a retired teacher, having taught business courses at Whitney Point Central High School for 29 years. She retired in These Peterboro programs feature the history of the Emancipation Proclamation and its prompting of the recruitment of the United States Colored Troops. Men of Color to Arms! is one of the 2013 Peterboro Heritage programs hosted by the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. The program will be held at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY

6 Recruitment Broadside Henry (Peter) Charles is one of the soldiers who will be included in Smithfield Town Historian Donna Burdick s program Men to Arms! Recognizing and Remembering Peterboro s Black Civil War Soldiers. Charles was a Private, Co. F. 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (the overflow unit for the 54th Massachusetts immortalized in the movie Glory. PHOTO: Henry (Peter) Charles Courtesy Steven Devan, Clinton NY Trumpets at the Walls of Jericho: Relatives of Civil War Glory Unit Chaplain Speak Blayne Whitfield, Vice President, Samuel Harrison Society in Pittsfield MA, Ruth Edmonds Hill, Oral History Coordinator at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Cambridge Ma, Trumpets at the Walls of Jericho: Relatives of Civil War Glory Unit Chaplain Speak in Peterboro Blayne Whitfield and Ruth Hill, great, great grandson and great-granddaughter, of Reverend Samuel Harrison will be in Peterboro NY, Sunday, August 4, the second day of Emancipation Days 2013, to share the history of their ancestor who attended Gerrit Smith s Manual Labor School in Peterboro, became the chaplain of the 54th Massachusetts United States Colored Troops of the movie Glory fame, and served for many years as the minister of the Second Congregational Church in Pittsfield MA. Born in 1818 to slave parents in Philadelphia, Harrison was freed from slavery with his widowed mother in In 1827, his mother sent him to New York City to apprentice with a shoe maker and minister to escape his alcoholic step-father. His formal education stopped at that point. When eighteen Samuel joined the American Education Society, which helped Harrison and his mother to get to Peterboro for Samuel to attend Gerrit Smith s Manual Labor School. On May 1, 1834, Gerrit Smith had opened a manual labor school for "Young Men of Color" on the grounds of his estate. Smith provided instructors, books, stationery, rooms, bedding, fuel, lights, and boarding. In return for a "good common or classical education," each student was to perform daily four hours of agricultural or mechanical labor. The teacher was Colquhoun Grant, who had previously been an instructor at the Oneida Institute, Whitesboro, New York. When the school in Peterboro closed, Harrison and two classmates headed for the Preparatory School in Hudson, Ohio. Upon graduation as the first black graduate, Harrison returned to Philadelphia and married his high school sweet heart. In 1850 Harrison became minister of the Second Congregational Church in Pittsfield MA, retiring in 1862 to work for the National Freedman s Relief Society, and recruited young black men for the Union Army. In 1863 Harrison became the chaplain of the 54th Massachusetts after Battery Wagner. One of nineteen black chaplains to be officially authorized to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War, Harrison fought for equal pay for black a soldier which was granted in June of After the war, he served churches in Maine,

7 Massachusetts and Rhode Island, returning to Pittsfield to resume the pastorate of the Second Congregational. He wrote his memoir in 1899 and died in His home in Pittsfield is being restored by the Samuel Harrison Society. (Biographical informationfrom research by Donna Burdick, Ruth Edmunds Hill, and Tom Vince.) At 1:00 p.m. the film A Trumpet at the Walls of Jericho: The Untold Story of Rev. Samuel Harrison will be shown. The film s debut was January 22, 2005 with an evening of celebration at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield to benefit the restoration of Harrison s home in Pittsfield. The film was produced and directed by Mike Kirk, in conjunction with the Western Reserve Academy. The story was narrated by Ossie Davis, Keith David, and Mario Van Peebles. Evan Martin plays young Harrison. Wynton Marsalis music is featured throughout the film and Marsalis speaks on Harrison. Kirk and Thomas Vince, Archivist for the Western Reserve Academy, visited Peterboro several times to meet with Town of Smithfield historian Donna Burdick in preparation for the film. An interview with Norm Dann filmed in Gerrit Smith s Peterboro land office is included in A Trumpet at the Walls of Jericho. WCNY broadcast the program in April of Blayne Whitfield, Vice President of the Samuel Harrison Society in Pittsfield MA, and his aunt Ruth Edmonds Hill, Oral History Coordinator at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, in Cambridge Ma, will travel back to Peterboro, an educational site of their ancestor, to reconnect Harrison to Peterboro as did the film Trumpets at the Walls of Jericho. Their program begins at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY on Sunday, August 4, This program is supported by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Sable Arm of the Republic: Black Troops in the Union Army The Glory Story Tom Hogle Ph.D. The Sable Arm of the Republic: Black Troops in the Union Army The Glory Story The sable arm was the term that President Abraham Lincoln used to refer to the use of black troops in putting down the armed rebellion of the Southern Confederacy. In April, 1865 these troops represented almost 10% of the Union Army and slightly more than 10% of the combat deaths. In continuing recognition of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War during Peterboro heritage programs in 2013, the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark will present programs during Emancipation Days featuring the Emancipation Proclamation and its prompting of the recruitment of the United States Colored Troops. At 3:00 p.m. Sunday, August 4, Tom Hogle PhD will present The Sable Arm of the Republic: Black Troops in the Union Army at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY The purpose of the presentation and discussion is to highlight the role of these brave Americans by referencing specific parts of the Academy award winning film Glory. The movie, itself, portrays the creation, training and early combat of the 54 th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry Regiment in The 54th was a regiment (approximately 1000 men) of black soldiers lead by white officers, most prominently, Col. Robert Gould Shaw, recruited by Governor John Andrew and aided by abolitionists including Frederick Douglass. The unit was one of many formed

8 after President Abraham signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, Rev. Samuel Harrison, the chaplain of the 54th Mass, attended Gerrit Smith s Manual Labor School in Peterboro. Overall over 200,000 black men fought in the Civil War. Almost 40,000 died. This was, by far, the highest percentage of deaths of any ethnic or racial group on either side during the war. The presentation will seek to use the movie Glory as a vehicle to highlight the plight of black men in a segregated United States Army fighting to save the country and, by 1863, end slavery once and for all in the United States. The movie Glory will frame a discussion of the role of black troops and the problems they faced in dealing with overt racism in the North and the declared intention of the Confederate States of America to kill all white officers and black troops captured in battle for inciting, servile insurrection or slave rebellion. Finally, the movie forces the audience to confront the brutal reality of war. The attack on Battery Wagner was a failure. The men of the 54 th suffered terrible casualties. Hundreds of men died.. Following discussion of the glory of the 54th Mass, and of war, a panel of community leaders will address similar questions. Dr. John Thomas Hogle, a Vietnam combat veteran, earned a B.A. at Oswego State (1975), a M.A. at Plattsburgh State (1979) and a Ph.D. in History at the University of Colorado at Boulder (1992). He has taught History and Government courses at Morrisville State College since 1999 and was recently promoted to Full Professor in the School of Liberal Arts. Prior to joining Morrisville, professor Hogle, taught overseas in Europe, the Middle East, Korea and Japan in the University of Maryland Overseas Division. A former chair of the Social Science Department, Dr. Hogle presently serves as the elected chapter President of the United University Professions union and is the Alternate University Faculty Senator for Morrisville State College. He lives in his home town of Syracuse, New York near his surviving ten brothers and sisters. He also serves on the staff of his cat, Black Jack. This program is supported by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

9 Films that will be discussed in the Sunday, August 4, 2013 sessions will be shown at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY during two sessions for persons who may wish to review the films: The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry is the first film in the movie sessions (6:30 pm Friday, August 2, and 8:00 am Sunday, August 4). Morgan Freeman narrates the story of the unsung heroes of the 54th Mass. Weeks after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts was authorized to raise the first northern black regiment. 100 African American men from Massachusetts joined the regiment with 1000 others joining from other states. The 54th fought bravely at Fort Wagner. After two years the company took Charleston. In the fall of 1865 the victorious 54th Infantry returned to Boston. The film follows the activities of the 54th as well as those of individual members, including Charles and Lewis Douglass (sons of abolitionist Frederick Douglass), Luis Emilio (who chronicled the regiment s movements), and James Gooding, whose letters were published. This WGBH American Experience film is 56 minutes long and in color. This DVD is also available at the Peterboro Mercantile at the Visitor Center, and online at mercantile.gerritsmith.org Glory is the two hour film about the 54th Massachusetts organization in Boston MA to the bravery at Battery Wagner in South Carolina that won three Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor by Denzel Washington. Washington is the runaway slave who embodies the indomitable spirit of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts. Morgan Freeman is an inspirational sergeant who unites the troops. Matthew Broderick and Cary Elwes are the idealistic Bostonians who lead the regiment. Despised by the South, distrusted by the North, the 54th, the first black regiment to fight for the Union, overcame insurmountable odds in its fight to join the war for freedom. Underpaid and illequipped, facing certain death at the hands of the Confederacy, the 54th rose to every challenge from racism within the ranks to the harrowing battle at Fort Wagner. The courage, skill, and sacrifice of the 54th paved the way

10 for the Union ultimate victory. There is no admission fee to the film sessions. Visitors can bring dinner from the Deli on the Green for the Friday evening film and breakfast for the Sunday morning film. COMMUNITY PANEL RE: IMPACT of GLORY Do you think that most African American adults are aware if the 54 th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, and if so, are they aware of the bravery demonstrated by these troops? Of 180,000 black soldiers about 40,000 died in the Civil War. This was, by far, the highest percentage of deaths of any ethnic or racial group on either side during the war. Was this contribution worth it? Is the brutality of war worth it? What was the role of African Americans in the Civil War and how does Glory demonstrate the plight of individual black troops and black unit? What progress was made in the century between 1863 with the recruitment of the United States Colored Troops and Martin Luther King Jr s I Have A Dream Speech? Was the attack on Fort Wagner a failure? Other..personal comments

11 HAMLET of PETERBORO / TOWN of SMITHFIELD HERITAGE SITES -State and National Register Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic -National Park Service (NPS) National Historic Landmark(NHL) Landmark -Site on New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic 5304 Oxbow Road Preservation (NYSOPRHP) Underground Railroad Heritage Peterboro NY Trail Site on National Park Service (NPS) Network to Freedom (NTF) the national Underground Railroad Trail info@gerritsmith.org Exterior Exhibits open all year. Interior exhibits open May Sept Sat/Sun 1-5pm, special events and by appointment. LOCATION ACTIVITY National Park Service National Historic Landmark Exterior Signage: Myths of Underground Railroad Designations of Gerrit Smith Estate Site Gerrit Smith: Philanthropist, Humanitarian, Abolitionist, Reformer Smith Family: Underground Railroad activities & events African-Americans in Peterboro Greene Smith and His Bird House Orientation NPS Video Introducing Gerrit Smith NYSOPRHP Exhibits The Lodge Peterboro Mercantile Community Heritage Shop Gerrit Smith, his wealth and philanthropy Step where history has stepped. Peterboro Mercantile The Land Office The Barn The Laundry Myths of the Underground Railroad Heaven and Peterboro: The Underground Railroad Abolitionists in Peterboro African-Americans in Peterboro: 19th 21t Century: Seeking a Haven On the Way to Freedom Purchased from Slavery Black Abolitionists Manual Labor School Serving in the Civil War

12 Greene Smith Ornithon and Collection The Birdhouse Site The Mansion Site Smithfield Community Center Abolition Museum Gerrit Smith Philanthropist Humanitarian Reformer Abolitionist Reconciler Double Video intro to 1835 Event: Inaugural Meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society Mobbed in Utica: Welcomed in Peterboro National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum American Abolition: Colonial & Revolution 1820 ~ Mobs & Martyrs 1840s 1850s Fugitive Slave Law & Vigilante 1860s Civil War & Black Troops Reconstruction Abolition Legacy in Civil Rights Movement Ongoing Abolition Emancipation Proclamation Preliminary NYS Library 2013: NYS Honors Harriet Tubman Centenary National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum Antislavery Mural Banners Inducted Abolitionists Slavery in America 19th C. Smithfield Industry & Reform: Hall of Fame Glass factories Women s Rights Dress Reform Stanton Peterboro Veterans of Civil War Archeological artifacts from digs Integrated In Life: 19th C. Peterboro Integrated in Death: 19th C. Peterboro Cemetery

13 NYS Historical Marker for Elizabeth Smith Miller