Lincoln in Annapolis, February 1865

Hosted by Civic Works and presented by Rockford E. Toews, author of , join us for a talk about President Lincoln’s walking through Annapolis on his way by boat to a secret meeting with negotiators from the Confederate States. The military arm of the states in rebellion was making its defense of Richmond and the collapse of the rebellion seemed inevitable, yet millions of Americans yearned, day by day, for an end to the carnage. And so, the glimmer of a negotiated ceasefire and cessation of war appeared in the form of negotiators from Jeff Davis seeking a meeting with President Lincoln. Lincoln walked through Annapolis one day after his Secretary of State delivered the constitutional amendment draft to end slavery to Governor Bradford, seeking his support and Maryland’s legislative action. Almost nobody knew the president passed by and almost everyone forgot.

Mr. Toews has served on the Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission and the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He has also served on the boards of the Charles Carroll House, the Mitchell Gallery at St. John's College, and the West River Quaker Burial Ground.

Copies of Lincoln in Annapolis, Februrary 1865 will be available for sale after the lecture.

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Host or Publisher Civic Works