Bells Across the Land

The Shaker Historical Society, 16740 South Park Blvd, Shaker Heights, OH, in partnership with Plymouth Church and St. Dominic’s Church in Shaker Heights, the Ohio History Connection and the National Park Service announce “Bells across the Land: A Nation Remembers Appomattox”.

For the past four years, the National Park Service and many other organizations and individuals have been commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War and the continuing efforts for human rights today. On April 9, 1865, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant met Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to set the terms of surrender of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

In conjunction with a major event at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, the National Park Service and its partners invite communities across the nation to join in this commemoration. The bells will ring first at Appomattox at 3:00 p.m. on April 9, 2015. The ringing will coincide with the moment the historic meeting between Grant and Lee in the McLean House at Appomattox Court 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.

After the ringing at Appomattox, bells will reverberate across the country. Churches, temples, schools, city halls, public buildings, historic sites, and others are invited to ring bells precisely at 3:15 pm for four minutes (each minute symbolic of a year of war). If you have access to any such organizations, please encourage them to participate.

After the bell ringing at Plymouth Church and St Dominics, the Shaker Historical Society invites the community to come to the Shaker Historical Society for a reception and short program about this community’s involvement in the Civil War, including the Shakers of North Union’s experience and new research about the Van Sweringens’ father, James Sweringen who served in the Union Army. Extensive teachers’ packets and activities for children will also be available.