Celebrate Lincoln with the Odenton Heritage Society

If you've seen the award-winning movie Lincoln, you'll recall a key scene involving President Lincoln meeting with Confederate leaders on a ship in Norfolk to discuss and end the Civil War. 

That scene was based on a true event that took place on Feb. 3, 1865. And according to local historians, Lincoln passed through Odenton by rail on the way to Norfolk. 

OHS President Roger White provided an article from the society's newsletter, Heritage Times, which explains Lincoln's journey.

Here's the text from author Steve Hammond, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans.

On February 3, 1865, representatives of the Union and Confederate governments met on board a ship near Norfolk to discuss a possible settlement of the war. President Lincoln sent Secretary of State William Seward as his representative. At the last minute, Lincoln decided to join Seward at the conference.
The Potomac River was frozen, so Lincoln ordered a locomotive and a car from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and departed for Annapolis. After rolling through Anne Arundel County on the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, Lincoln boarded a steamship at the U. S. Naval Academy wharf. At the close of the unsuccessful peace conference, he returned to Washington via the same route.

To help recognize the event, OHS will have an open house at its museum Sunday from 1-4 p.m. The museum will have a special display about Lincoln and the Civil War, as well as the railroad that connected Annapolis and Annapolis Junction. 

Admission to the museum is free, but visitors can also by a separate ticket to the society's Tickets to the gala are $15 for adults, $7 for younger than 12, and children younger than 3 are free. For more information about the Chocolate Gala, contact Jan Reno at 410-674-5927 or Lori Olson at 410-672-5412.