The Dinwiddie County Sesquicentennial Planning Committee, in conjunction with the City of Petersburg Department of Cultural Affairs, Arts and Tourism, will host a commemorative lecture on Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 3:30 p.m. at Blandford Church, 319 Crater Road, Petersburg, Virginia.
The topic of the lecture will be the wedding of Petersburg native General John Pegram, and the beautiful and lively Hetty Cary, which was held at St. Paul’s Church in Richmond on January 19, 1865. This was considered the social highlight of an otherwise bleak winter in the capital of the Confederacy and boasted several notable guests, including President and Mrs. Jefferson Davis. The couple’s honeymoon was cut short due to the General’s military responsibilities, yet the new Mrs. Pegram accompanied her husband and stayed at his headquarters in Dinwiddie County.
On February 6, 1865, General Pegram was killed leading his men at the Battle of Hatcher’s Run. His funeral was held in the same church in which he had been married three weeks earlier.
This program will use costumed interpreters to recreate aspects of both ceremonies and showcase marriage and funeral customs of the mid-19th century. It will also address the impact the war had on the traditions and rituals of these two important social events, including customs, appropriate dress, decorations and the role of family, friends, etc.
Tickets for the lecture are $10 each and may be purchased on-line at: www.PlayDinwiddie.com and at the Blandford Church Reception Center, 111 Rochelle Lane. Proceeds from the lecture will benefit the Dinwiddie County Sesquicentennial Planning Committee and the Ladies Memorial Association of Petersburg.