Mark Your Calendars! November 1, 2014: Maryland Emancipation Day at Antietam

Maryland Emancipation Day Celebrations Being Held at Antietam National Battlefield and Historic Tolson’s Chapel Sat., Nov. 1

Sharpsburg, MD –  Maryland freed all people held in bondage within its boundaries on November 1, 1864 with a new state constitution. 150 years later, commemorations are being held at the Antietam National Battlefield and the historic Tolson’s Chapel on Saturday, November 1, 2014.

Lectures, special exhibits, music and dramatic performance are scheduled throughout the day.

Schedule of Events

10:00 a.m.--Lecture: Edie Wallace, Effect of Maryland Emancipation on local African-Americans, including Jeremiah Summers and Hilary Watson, slaves on Antietam Battlefield farms.

Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center

11:00 a.m.--Lecture: Dr. Tom Clemens, Maryland Emancipation from a State Perspective

Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center

1:00-4:00 p.m.--Tolson’s Chapel will be open to the public

2:00 p.m.--150th Anniversary Celebration at Tolson’s Chapel with:

Keynote Speaker Dr. Hari Jones, Curator, African-American Civil War Memorial & Museum

Actress Jayné Price portraying emancipated slave Teany Watson

Music in the Gospel Style

7:00 p.m.--Lecture: Todd Brewster, author of Lincoln’s Gamble—The Politics of Emancipation

Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center