Civil War Presentation is Held

(Poughkeepsie) - The Hudson Valley contains a vast amount of American History and it’s all right at your doorstep. The Samuel F.B. Morse Estate on Route 9 hosted the 150th N.Y. Volunteer Infantry of Duchess County. The group is composed of Civil War reenactors that camped out on the estate and performed educational exhibitions and talks for visitors. Morse, “Locust Grove” in 1871, named the Estate, and is the Father of the telegraph and the inventor of the “Morse code”. For those interested in the History of Black Troops during the Civil War you may want to visit the A.M.E. Zion church at 111 Washington St. in Newburgh.

After President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the First Black Soldiers to enlist were from Orange County and the City of Newburgh. A large bronze plaque is displayed inside the church and contains the names of the origional Black troops around a Bas Relief of President Lincoln. There is also a tribute to Frederick Douglass outside the churh. Please be sure to visit Newburgh in support of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.