The Civil War 150 years later
Efforts to
provide federal funding for Civil War commemorations have been unsuccessful. Commemoration
goes on without federal funding. Groups across the country left, because of no
funds from the state. States and communities across the country are coming
together to commemorate the Civil War’s sesquicentennial without federal
funding or a national commission.
In
light of this economic challenge, the Civil War Trust, a non-profit group
dedicated to preserving battlefields views connecting local regional and state
organizations not just as an opportunity but as an obligation.
You can read
all you want in a book, but for a lot of people, it never quite clicks until
you see it. Programs and events are ratcheting up and in some cases have already
begun before the 150th anniversary of the firing on fort Sumter in
Charleston, S.C, on April 12, considered the first cannon fired of the war.
Charleston plans a program that spans several
days and includes lectures, re-enactments, movies, music and a solemn display
of lights at the fort, despite receive in no ds from the state. One of the few
groups to receive state money is the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American
civil War Commission, which has secured a $2 million annual appropriation since
2008, says Cheri Jackson, the commission’s executive director.
Despite been the site of one of the war’s
iconic battles and a well-known tourist attraction, Gettysburg wasn’t as lucky.
It received one state fund. That’s not stopping the Gettysburg? Convention and
/visitors Bureau from pulling together five years" when booth troops left
25,000 wounded and dead soldiers were still here… It took months and month to
clean up this town.
The
planning committee for Pennsylvania which as able to secure some national
grants is organizing a Civil War road show with a mobile museum traveling to
all 67 counties in the state over the Course of 4 years The Georgia Civil War Commission saw its
state appropriations fall from $50,000 four years ago to $10,000 last year,
With neighboring states experiencing similar, if not more dire, circumstances.
Like many organizers will be an inclusive look at the Civil War, with an
increased emphasis on the efforts of African Americans and women in the
conflict. Has taken the histories of all the US Colored Troops regiments
identifying where they were organized and participated in raids or skirmishes
and created a data base.
A broadening in
the study of history has led to a better upstanding of the war and that involved
186,000 blacks who enlisted in Union armies. We’ve come a long, long way in
civil rights, and I think it’s possible for blacks and whites to mark the Civil
War with the reverence it deserves.
