Res 0617-2015

By Council Members Maisel, Johnson, Vallone and Ulrich Whereas, The American Civil War is one of the central events in the history of the United States of America; and Whereas, The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the survival of the Union or independence for the Confederacy, which was comprised of eleven Southern states that sought to preserve and expand slavery; and Whereas, The United States Department of the Interior estimates that more than four million Americans were enslaved at the beginning of the American Civil War; and Whereas, During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared that "all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, ... shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free," however, this did not apply to all states, only to those that were not under Union control; and Whereas, After the end of the American Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution formally abolished slavery throughout the United States; and Whereas, Estimates indicate that over three million American soldiers were enlisted in the Union and Confederate armies over the course of the American Civil War; and Whereas, The Lincoln Institute estimates that at least 460,000 residents of New York State were enlisted in the Union army during the American Civil War; and Whereas, According to the New York State Department of Military and Naval Affairs, residents of the City of New York assembled in Union Square on April 20, 1861 to establish the Union Defense Committee, contributing warships, funding, and at least sixty six regiments to the early war efforts during the American Civil War; and Whereas, According to the New York State Department of Military and Naval Affairs, the City of New York contributed over thirty six million dollars to the early war efforts during the American Civil War; and Whereas, More than 620,000 American soldiers were killed as a result of combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the American Civil War; and Whereas, More American soldiers died during the American Civil War than in any other war in the history of the United States of America; and Whereas, In response to the destruction and loss of American lives as a result of the American Civil War, organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic and others throughout the United States of America, including the Grant Monument Association and Oliver Tilden Camp #26 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in New York City, were established to honor the memory of the deceased and commemorate the war; and Whereas, There are several American Civil War memorials in numerous communities throughout the City of New York, including Grand Army Plaza overlooking the entrance into Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York and the General Grant National Memorial, also known as the tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant, Commanding General of the Union Army, which is located in the neighborhood of Morningside Heights in Manhattan, New York; and Whereas, On April 9, 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant secured the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, effectively ending the American Civil War; and Whereas, April 9, 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War, and Whereas, In remembrance of the American Civil War, President Barack Obama stated in a Presidential Proclamation: When the terrible and costly struggle was over, a new meaning was conferred on our country's name -- the United States of America. We might be tested, but whatever our fate might be, it would be as one Nation; now therefore be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York commemorates the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War on April 9, 2015. OA/TC LS 3910 2/4/2015 2:15PM