Rensselaer County To Commemorate The 150th Anniversary Of The Start Of The Civil War

Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen M. Jimino is urging residents to pause and remember the many County residents who served in the Civil War as we commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the war’s beginning. To kick-off the commemoration of the start of the war, churches throughout Rensselaer County are being asked to toll their bells at noon on April 12, the date on which the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter.
“Rensselaer County played a pivotal role in the Civil War not only through the men who fought and died in the battles but also though our factories and industries that supplied horseshoes and even the iron plates that were installed on the iron clad ship The Monitor,” said Jimino.
Rensselaer County will partner with the County’s and towns’ historians as well as local leaders to promote events and activities recognizing the contribution made by residents and families from throughout the County for the duration of the war.
Rensselaer County Historian Kathy Sheehan said, “Over the next five years the Rensselaer County Historian and the 14 town historians will work collaboratively on a number of programs and exhibitions. The Rensselaer County Historical Society will hold a series of five exhibitions commemorating various events that occurred during the war.”
For more information on events and activities in Rensselaer County to commemorate our role in the Civil War, residents are urged to visit the County’s tourism website located at www.renscotourism.com or call the Tourism Office at 270-2959.