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OGDEN — Bells rang on towers at national parks, churches, town halls, schools and other historic sites Thursday to mark the 150th anniversary of General Robert E. Lee's surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant’.
It was the beginning of the end of the Civil War.
The event was commemorated across the nation, and a ceremony attracted dozens at the George E. Wahlen Veterans Home in Ogden. At the precise moment all across the nation, 1:15 p.m. in Utah, the bells began to ring.
“That is the end of the meeting between Generals Lee and Grant,” said Kim Wixon, State Officer for the George E. Wahlen Home. “It's when they finished and had all the standards set, and everything they were going to agree upon for the surrender of Lee's army to Grant.”
It was an important day for Utahn David Rusch. He’s the great-great grandson of William H. Wenzel, who fought in the Union Army during the Civil War.
“He was a private in Company K of the 15th Iowa infantry,” Rusch said.
A Vietnam veteran, Rusch said he only learned of his relative’s Civil War connection 15 years ago.
“We were visiting in Iowa and went to the cemetery where he was buried, and that's when I found out he was in it at all.”
Seven-hundred-and-fifty-thousand Americans died during the Civil War. That's just incredible; more than all the wars put together. If we don't remember our history, we won't know who we are.
–Kim Wixon, State Officer for the George E. Wahlen Home
Rusch was the first one to ring the bell at Thursday’s ceremony in Ogden. He was then followed by dozens of fifth- and sixth-graders from West Weber Elementary School. The constant ringing of the bell lasted for 4 minutes — one minute for each year of the war.
In the days leading up to the 150th observance, re-enactments took place and tourists flocked to the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, the site where Lee and Grant met. Those attending the Ogden event said even though the war was a long time ago, it’s important to remember the events that shaped this country.
“Seven-hundred-and-fifty-thousand Americans died during the Civil War,” Wixon said. “That's just incredible; more than all the wars put together. If we don't remember our history, we won't know who we are," he said.
Rusch’s great-great grandfather survived the war and was discharged as a private when it was over.
Although April 9th is a significant date, the Civil War did not formally end on that day 150-years ago. But, the meeting between General’s Lee and Grant began the process. Sporadic fighting continued for months until President Andrew Johnson finally declared the war over on August 20, 1865.
