Page 4 - Demo

“A Freedwoman
CHARLOTTE SCOTT
and the Scott anO
d Rucker Families of Lynchburg
n the eleventh anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination— April 14, 1876—a monument to the martyred president was dedicated in Lincoln Park, Washington D.C.1 The day was “de- clared a public holiday,” and “every one was free to participate in the exercises” which included a parade featuring almost “all of the colored organizations in the city.” The monument, known
as the Freedman’s Memorial or Emancipation Statue, had been funded exclusively by donations from African Americans. Fredrick Douglass was the keynote speaker. President Grant was given the honor of unveiling the bronze before an estimated crowd of 25,000.
Among the spectators was an ex-slave named Charlotte Scott. Her presence held a special significance. After Lincoln’s, hers was the only other name on the plaque at the base of the statue:
BY MARJORIE HUINER
FREEDOM’S MEMORIAL IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED
BY THE WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION
OF SAINT LOUIS MO:
WITH FUNDS CONTRIBUTED SOLELY BY EMANCIPATED CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES DECLARED FREE BY HIS PROCLAMATION JANUARY 1 A.D. 1863.
THE FIRST CONTRIBUTION OF FIVE DOLLARS WAS MADE BY CHARLOTTE SCOTT, A FREEDWOMAN OF VIRGINIA, BEING HER FIRST EARNINGS IN FREEDOM
AND CONSECRATED
BY HER SUGGESTION AND REQUEST
ON THE DAY SHE HEARD OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN’S DEATH TO BUILD A MONUMENT TO HIS MEMORY.
The event, including speeches, was covered by the Washington Republican, April 15, 1876, and published in a pamphlet titled “Inaugural Ceremonies of the Freedman’s Memorial Monument to Abraham Lincoln: Washington City, April 14,1876,” (St. Louis: Levinson & Blythe). The pamphlet is available online at http://archive.org/details/inauguralceremon00doug.
4 LYNCH’S FERRY
1