HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2015-03-31 Bell Ringing Ceremony
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Leesburg Hosting “Bells Across the Land: A Nation Remembers
Appomattox” Ceremony on Town Green on Thursday, April 9
Town invites all to mark the 150th anniversary of the end of Civil War conflict
and the beginning of freedom and a restored Union.
Leesburg, VA (March 31, 2015) – At precisely 3:15pm on Thursday, April 9, 2015, the Town of
Leesburg will join with the National Park Service in commemorating the 150 th anniversary of the
end of the Civil War conflict with a bell-ringing ceremony on the Town Green.
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 ongoing efforts for
civil rights today.
On April 9, 1865, Union General Ulysses S. Grant met Confederate General 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 , beginning at
precisely 3:15pm and ringing for four minutes. Each minute of bell-ringing will represent one
year of the war. Bells will ring from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, from the Old North
Church in Boston, from the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, from Historic Ebenezer Baptist
Church in Atlanta, and from battlefields, national park sites, national cemeteries, state capitols,
county court houses, town halls, historical sites, universities, schools, homes, churches,
temples, and mosques around the nation. For more information, visit the National Park Service
website at www.nps.gov/civilwar/civil-war-to-civil-rights.htm.
In Leesburg, the bell-ringing ceremony will begin at 3:00pm with a welcome from Vice Mayor
Kelly Burk, followed by guest speaker Richard Gillespie, Executive Director of the Mosby
Heritage Area. After Mr. Gillespie’s remarks, bells will be distributed in preparation for the bell-
ringing at 3:15pm. Participants are encouraged to bring their own bells, as well.
The Town encourages those not able to attend the ceremony on Town Green to participate by
ringing bells wherever they may be at 3:15pm on Thursday.
Media Contact:
Betsy Fields
Research & Communications Manager
bfields@leesburgva.gov
703-771-2734
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