It’s chime to celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation!
The sesquicentennial of the Civil War is marked by a lot of commemoration of battles fought and soldiers lost and, as Lincoln said at Gettysburg, it’s altogether proper and fitting that we do this. But there’s also reason to commemorate other aspects of the Civil War, and this week in Norwich, Conn. , both the war and its consequences are being remembered in a three-day celebration called “Let Freedom Ring,” marking the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
While some may debate whether slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there’s no doubt that its result was the end of slavery. As is well-known, the Emancipation Proclamation did not directly free many slaves. President Lincoln drafted the measure as a war power of the presidency, believing he didn’t have the constitutional authority to abolish slavery. That final abolition would come with the Thirteenth Amendment.
Many have wondered why the Emancipation Proclamtion isn't playing a larger role in the country's commemoration of the Civil War, but in at least one community, Norwich, Conn., the 150th anniversary is being noted in a big way.
The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to those areas still in rebellion against the government as of Jan. 1, 1863. Slaves in the still-loyal slave states were not freed, and neither were most of those in the Confederate territory under actual control of federal forces.
But rather than being an empty measure, it was widely recognized everywhere that the Emancipation Proclamation represented the death knell of slavery, if the North won the war.
Word of the Emancipation Proclamation passed through the slave community by word of mouth, with some in Texas not learning they were free until June 19th, 1865. That day has turned into a holiday called “Juneteeth” and the Emancipation proclamation celebration in Norwich is anchored on the city’s annual Juneteeth celebration, sponsored by the Norwich Branch of the NAACP. Norwich feels a special kinship to Lincoln and the cause of freedom. The city harbored a strong abolitionist sentiment and was active in the Underground Railroad. Lincoln is considered somewhat of a local native son, as the Wauregan Hotel in Norwich was the site of major campaign appearance by Lincoln in 1860.
Norwich native and Conn. Gov. William Buckingham, Mayor James Greene and the City Council all supported the Emancipation and on Jan. 1, 1863, the day it went into effect, the city celebrated by ringing all the bells for an hour and firing a 100-gun salute. That citywide bell-ringing inspired the celebration this year of a year-long commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation that will culminate on Jan. 1, 2013 with another citywide ringing of the bells.
A centerpiece of that celebration is the casting of the first commemorative bell in the country marking the 150th anniversary of the proclamation, which will happen over the course of three days this week using the world’s only mobile bell foundry, owned by the Verdin Company.
The events begin Thursday, June 14th, Flag Day, with a program of veterans’ events, naval re-enactors and Boy Scouts retiring used flags while the Verdin Mobile Foundry arrives and sets up on the Norwich waterfront.
On Friday, June 15th, the bell will be cast during the celebration of Native Heritage Day, with events depicting Native American Heritage and Culture.
Finally, on Saturday, June 16th, during the Juneteenth celebration, the bell will be broken out of its cast, polished and presented to the city.
Also, during Friday and Saturday the Freedom Schooner Amistad will be tied up at the waterfront and offering tours during its first public appearance after two years of repairs. The Amistad is a replica of the ship liberated by captive Africans in 1839 as dramatized in the move Amistad. The Supreme Court case involving the Amistad captives and their fate was a key episode in the controversy over slavery that led to the Civil War.
The men who fought in that war will be commemorated during a three-day Civil War encampment on Norwichtown Green Friday through Sunday, about a mile from the waterfront.
For more information about the Freedom Bell project and the events surrounding it:
www.norwichfreedombell.com
For up-to-date news on events:
www.norwichrose.com
For information on the Amistad:
www.amistadamerica.net
For information on the Verdin Company:
www.verdin.com