Enduring Questions about an Enduring Time
When does the commemoration begin? What are we commemorating?

I am asked these questions often (along with "How long did it take you to learn to pronounce 'sesquicentennial'?"). While the first battles of the Civil War began in 1861, the issues leading up to the Civil War developed long before that and legacies of the war continue even today. No event in this nation's history has had as much impact as the Civil War, and the goal of Virginia's sesquicentennial commemoration is to better understand our past by examining many facets of the Civil War from many perspectives: Union, Confederate and African-American; battlefront as well as home front; and military tactics as well as cultural and social legacies. After all, we can't really understand the magnitude of the war without understanding why they took up arms in the first place and what effect all the fighting had.

For those reasons, Virginia's sesquicentennial commemoration began in 2009 with two events that helped place the coming of the Civil War into context. First, the Commission was proud to sponsor the first official sesquicentennial event in the nation, a symposium on April 29, 2009 at the University of Richmond, "America on the Eve of the Civil War." Dr. Edward L. Ayers chaired the conference, gathering noted scholars from across the United States to discuss events of 1859 and how they led to a country divided by war only two years later. It was a groundbreaking program that receved high praise.

We also worked with the West Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission to mark the national kickoff of the sesquicentennial. The joint-state event was held in conjunction with a series of events for the 150th anniversary of John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry. At the time of the raid, of course, Harpers Ferry was in Virginia. The separation of the western counties of Virginia to form a new state is a product of the Civil War and a topic of sustained interest that will be examined an upcoming symposium.

To round off our inaugural year, the Commission distributed a copy of "Virginia in the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Remembrance" to every public elementary, middle, and high school in Virginia. Teachers are loving this resource, which provides a comprehensive overview of the Civil War. I hope that you will order a copy.

On September 24, 2010, the Commission will sponsor its second annual Signature Conference, "Race, Slavery, and the Coming of the Civil War: The Tough Stuff of American History and Memory." Dr. James O. Horton will serve as conference chair, bringing together eminent scholars such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson, David Blight, Spencer Crew, Ira Berlin, and many more. This important program is not to be missed, and we hope that you will join us either at Norfolk State University or through webcast.

The Commission has developed a number of other plans for the commemoration, including traveling exhibitions, a document digitization legacy project, Walk in Their Footsteps technology, and much more. We are joined in our planning efforts by local sesquicentennial committees in every region of the Commonwealth, and funded in part through the generosity of our partners and members of the Civil War 150 Council. Together, it is our hope that you will travel throughout Virginia during the sesquicentennial to experience the history firsthand - - walk along the battlefields, see the sites, hear the stories, and understand the emotions. We are commemorating a time that defined a nation like none other . . . and it begins now. Come join us.