1 Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission William J. Howell, Chairman Speaker of the House of Delegates Charles J. Colgan, Sr.,

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Virginia Sesquicentennial of theAmerican Civil War Commission

William J. Howell, ChairmanSpeaker of the House of Delegates

Charles J. Colgan, Sr., Vice ChairmanPresident pro tempore, Senate of Virginia

Cheryl Jackson

Executive Director

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Sesquicentennial Commission established by HB 1440 (2006)

Commission membership:

Speaker William J. Howell, ChairSen. Charles J. Colgan, Sr., Vice Chair Sen. R. Creigh DeedsDel. Albert C. Eisenberg Sen. John S. EdwardsDel. Algie T. Howell, Jr. Sen. Janet D. HowellDel. Johnny S. Joannou Sen. Mamie E. LockeDel. R. Steven Landes John P. Ackerly, IIIDel. L. Scott Lingamfelter Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr.Del. Thomas C. Wright, Jr. Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr

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• Vision statement; logo: “Understanding Our Past, Embracing Our Future”

• Goals for the commemoration:

1. Diversity: The commemoration will be inclusive of, and meaningful to, all Virginians, particularly:

• Diverse racial and ethnic groups;• Immigrants and citizens who do not have a hereditary link to the American Civil War; and• Young people who do not understand the relevance of the American Civil War to today's population

2. Inclusiveness: The commemoration will seek to portray a fair and balanced story of Virginia's participation in the American Civil War that includes the African-American, Union and Confederate perspectives.

3. Statewide Accessibility: The commemoration will be statewide, involving all localities and encompassing all Civil War-related institutions, museums, battlefields, parks and facilities in the Commonwealth.

4. Education: The commemoration period have a strong education component, which will be intended to ignite a renewed interest in Virginia's historical heritage. Preservation of endangered battlefields – America’s outdoor classrooms – will be strongly encouraged.

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Commission Accomplishments

• Website: www.VirginiaCivilWar.org

• Hired Development Officer; created 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation

• Encouraged, worked with and offered technical assistance to other states to begin planning; monitored planning at the federal level

• Working with localities as each forms sesquicentennial committee (93/134 total)

• Meet regularly throughout the state; conduct media tours

• Approved a special license plate for the sesquicentennial

• Planning a number of statewide commemorative initiatives

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Plans in Development

Museum Exhibition: “An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia”

– Major statewide traveling exhibition rich in artifacts, documents, and high-tech components

– Two parts (battlefront and homefront): approx. 4,000 sq. ft.

– Open in Richmond (Virginia Historical Society) in February 2011 – Travel to Roanoke, Abingdon, Lynchburg, Winchester, Manassas,

Hampton and Appomattox – A panel exhibition will be developed to travel to museums throughout

the state and beyond.

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Educational Film: Produced by Blue Ridge Public Television and the Virginia Tech Center for Civil War Studies

• Distributed free of charge to every school, library, archives, and historical society in the state beginning in August

• Divided into nine 20-minute segments designed for use by teachers in the classroom

• Segments will focus on the background of the war, military campaigns, the African-American experience, leading Virginia personalities, the common soldiers, homefront activities (including women and medical care) and legacies of the war for all Americans.

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Grants: Partner with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to award competitive micro-grants to local sesquicentennial committees for a variety of Civil War 150 programs with a marketing component, such as publications, website development, advertisements, etc.

Interactive battlefield tours: Partner with NPS and state battlefield sites throughout the state to develop interactive ‘vodcast’ battlefield tours for widespread access through the Internet.

Strategic Marketing Plan: Work with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to develop and implement an 8-year marketing plan for the statewide commemoration.

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Plans under Discussion

HistoryMobile (tractor trailer) exhibition: Develop a mobile Civil War 150 exhibition, featuring key artifacts and documents plus high-tech maps and displays, that would travel to localities throughout the state and outside of the state to promote Virginia Civil War tourism.

Digitization project: Partner with the Library of Virginia for a major initiative to identify, collect, catalog, and preserve Civil War documents currently held in private collections through digital scanning. This initiative may be combined with the HistoryMobile to promote the program and for ease of scanning original documents.

Pilot project is currently underway in Danville – may be extended to Washington and Chesterfield counties and others.

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Plans under Discussion

Signature Conferences and Law School Symposia: An annual conference series featuring the nation’s finest historians, intended to foster broad public understanding of the history of the Civil War. Conference topics tentatively include:

2009: America on the Eve of the Civil War (University of Richmond: April 29, 2009)

2010: African-Americans and the Civil War

2011: American Military Strategy and the Civil War

2012: Leadership and Generalship in the Civil War

2013:Civil War in a Global Context

2014: The Home Front in the Civil War

2015: Memory of the Civil War

Symposia: The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution; Constitutional issues surrounding the separation and formation of West Virginia

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Plans under Discussion: Special Events

Kickoff event: Harper’s Ferry: June 25, 2009• 150th anniversary of John Brown’s Raid• Partnering with West Virginia for inaugural event• Purpose: Bring national attention to the sesquicentennial; media presence• Panel discussions with historians, tours

Significant milestone events:2011: Battle of First Manassas2012: Battle of the Ironclads; Peninsula Campaign (Hampton Roads; peninsula area)

Seven Days Battles (Richmond) Jackson’s Valley Campaign (Shenandoah Valley)

2013: Emancipation Proclamation Chancellorsville (Fredericksburg/Stafford)

2014: Overland Campaign (Spotsylvania) Siege of Petersburg

2015: Culmination (Appomattox)

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Statewide Coordination

Coordination: The Commission will lead the linkage, coordination, unification, and support of existing museums and sites, in lieu of building a new facility.

– Promote Civil War destinations through:

• Interactive website• Computer kiosks• Maps and brochures at Welcome Centers and locations throughout the state• Comprehensive marketing plan

– Goal: Making travel easy for visitors

– Local sesquicentennial committee: liaison with the state Commission and plan events to highlight Civil War history and experience in the community.

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Local Sesquicentennial Committees

To every extent possible, the local sesquicentennial committee should include representatives of:

• Office of the chief administrative official • Governing body (i.e., City Council or Board of Supervisors) • Tourism industry organizations • Convention and Visitors' Bureau or visitors' services office • Chamber of Commerce or economic development office • Education community (e.g., Superintendent, teachers, PTA representatives, etc.) • Local battlefields and National Park Service personnel • Civil War Trails local coordinator • Civil War museums and facilities • Public libraries and historical societies• Public and private nonprofit organizations and agencies engaged in commemorating historical

events

**Seek resolution or endorsement from Board of Supervisors/City Council**

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Questions as the Committee Gets Started (courtesy of Norfolk CW 150 committee)

1. What is unique or distinctive about our community?

2. Where does our community’s Civil War story begin?

3. Where are the stories and who are the players? - Hospitals - Battles/skirmishes - High-profile visitors - Prisons - Historic homes - Pre-Civil War

churches - Cemeteries - Military occupation

4. Who are our community’s stakeholders?

5. What is the takeaway?

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Local Sesquicentennial Committees: Suggested activities

• Inventory Civil War sites for “Then/Now” interactive map; provide narrative history of the locality’s Civil War involvement for website

• Plan events and activities that highlight the locality’s Civil War history and that have importance and meaning to its citizens (include multiple perspectives)

• MOU: Assignment and monitoring of logo/sesquicentennial activities

• Promote and support the Commission’s signature events, such as the annual conference series, the HistoryMobile and the document digitization project

• Record Podcast tours of battlefields

• Join or expand participation in Civil War Trails program

• Seek resolution or endorsement from the Board of Supervisors/City Council

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Local Sesquicentennial Committees: The Commission’s Role

• Serve as the umbrella under which all activities and events fall - - coordinating and marketing the state, with the goal of making travel easy for visitors.

• Develop and implement a strategic statewide marketing campaign through the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

• Publicize activities through a statewide master calendar of events

• Administer a competitive micro-grant program coordinated by VTC to provide financial support to local committees for marketing of sesquicentennial events and activities.

• Provide technical assistance by aiding searches for grants, in-kind resources, etc.

• Work with the local committee to schedule a HistoryMobile tour and Document Digitization project.

• Keep local committees informed of and involved in the Commission's activities. Hold periodic "Civil War 150 Local Committee Roundtable" meetings

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Staff Contact Information

Cheryl Jackson Richard OliverExecutive Director Research Assistant

Brenda Edwards Danielle Watkins

Senior Research Associate Development Officer

Gwen Foley Senior Operations Staff Assistant

Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War CommissionDivision of Legislative Services910 Capitol Street, GAB, 2nd floorRichmond, Virginia 23219Phone: (804) 786-3591Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Website: www.VirginiaCivilWar.org

Documents

1 Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission William J. Howell, Chairman Speaker of the House of Delegates Charles J. Colgan, Sr.,