July 12, 2007
Pamplin Historical Park purchases manuscript copy of 13th Amendment
…as well as four other significant Civil War artifacts. Copies of the Thirteenth Amendment (which abolished slavery) were signed by all members of Congress and the Vice President and then sold to raise funds to support the North’s troops.
Pamplin Historical Park is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of a rare copy of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution signed by members of the Senate and House of Representatives as well as Vice President Hannibal Hamlin. The Park also purchased four other significant Civil War-era artifacts at an auction including an original copy of General Orders #9 owned by General William Mahone, a lock reported to be from Richmondís Libby Prison, a slave bracelet, and a flag carried by the 2nd North Carolina Infantry (African Decent).
Approved by the Senate in April 1864 and by the United States House of Representatives on January 1, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery in the United States. With the nation still at war, members of the United States Sanitary Commission, a government organization designed to improve soldier health and raise money to support the Northern war effort, asked that handwritten copies of the Amendment be created and signed by members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. These copies were then used to raise money for troops still in the field. The Parkís copy includes the signatures of all the members of the House and Senate as well as the Vice President.
Only four months after the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, Confederate General Robert E. Lee took pen in hand and began drafting a farewell address to his vanquished army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Dated April 10, 1865, he wrote, ìAfter four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.î Known as General Order Number 9, Lee provided transcribed copies of this document to all of his commanders. The copy now in the Pamplin Historical Park collection belonged to Confederate Major General William Mahone who saved the document until his death in 1895.
The Park also added a bracelet with African American figures and a flag said to have been carried by the men of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry to its collection. The 2nd North Carolina became part of the 36th Regiment United States Colored Troops and participated in the Battles of Chaffinís Farm on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia where Corporal Miles James became one of twenty-four African Americans to earn the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. Both of these items, along with the copy of the Thirteenth Amendment will be included in the Parkís traveling exhibit, ìMany Thousands Goî: African Americans and the Civil War.
Pamplin Historical Park is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily with extended hours during the summer months. Admission prices are $13.50 for adults, $12.00 for seniors 62 and over, and $7.50 for children ages 6-11. For more information about Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, visit the Parkís website.
One of ìVirginiaís Best Places to Visitî according to the Travel Channel, and recently designated as a National Historic Landmark, Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier is a 422-acre Civil War campus located in Dinwiddie County, Virginia offering a combination of high-tech museums and hands-on experiences. The Park has four world-class museums, four antebellum homes and costumed living history every day. The Park is also the site of the Breakthrough Battlefield of April 2, 1865 and Americaís newest participatory experience, Civil War Adventure Camp. For more information, please call 804-861-2408 or visit www.pamplinpark.org.
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