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The Virginia Civil War Trails Sign located on the lawn of the old Manassas Courthouse |
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Recognition is given to Colonel Edmund Berkeley
on a Virginia Civil War Trails campaign sign located in front of
the old Manassas Courthouse building. Col. Berkeley is acknowledged
for his participation and leadership role in the Manassas National
Peace Jubilee of 1911 and in the 1915 dedication of the memorial
on the grounds of the Manassas Courthouse that commemorated the
event. (The Virginia Civil War Trails consist of over 260 stops in five interconnected campaign driving tours marked with trailblazing signs.) The Peace Jubilee was commemorated by a memorial constructed at
the corner of Grant and Lee Avenues on the courthouse lawn, which
remains. The unveiling ceremony was held on September 30, 1915.
Children of the Manassas public schools, 48 young women dressed
in white, and Lady Columbia, played by Miss Katie Willcoxen, reenacted
the pageant of 1911. Assistant Secretary of War, Henry Breckinridge,
representing Woodrow Wilson, gave the keynote address on the subject
of national preparedness. Judge J.B.T. Thornton, on behalf of Virginia
Governor Stuart, welcomed veterans. The monument was unveiled by
Colonel Edmund Berkeley and Lieutenant George Carr Round at the
end of the ceremony. It consists of an inscribed bronze tablet atop
a block of white granite, flanked by two Civil War-era cannon. Immediately
flanking the tablet are two 400-pound ship's anchors, each with
three fathoms of chain. The anchors were a gift from Franklin D.
Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, who sent them from
the New York Naval Ship Yard.12 The inscription on the tablet reads:
In Commemoration of the MANASSAS NATIONAL JUBILEE OF PEACE The First Instance in History |
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Today: The memorial commemorating the 1911 Peace Jubilee |
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