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to the Home of the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commemoration
of the American Civil War
The years 2011
- 2015 will mark the 150th anniversary of the
American Civil War, the battles of which were
fought from 1861 - 1865. Yet the issues leading
up to the war developed over centuries, and legacies
of the war's aftermath continue today. The goal
of the Virginia sesquicentennial commemoration
of the Civil War is to understand this past by
examining the many facets of the war, as we come
together to embrace our future.
It
is important to know that it is not a celebration.
There is no joy to be found in a war that caused
the deaths of |
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over 620,000 Americans, divided families, tore apart
a nation, and left cities in ruin. Rather, it is a commemoration.
It is a solemn remembrance of the Americans -- men,
women and children, black and white, from the north
and the south -- who lived, fought and died for that
which they believed. There is much we can learn from
them and from that extraordinary conflict, for the lessons
of history are meant to be examined, understood, and
applied.
Virginia is central to the commemoration of the Civil
War.
- Virginia
led the call for the Peace Convention of 1861, bringing
together both free states and slave states in an attempt
to reach an agreement that would avoid the war and
preserve the Union.
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- The
bookends of the war were in Virginia: the site
of the first major battle of the war (Manassas),
and the end of the war (Appomattox).
- Sixty
percent of the Civil War's battles -- three
out of every five -- were fought in Virginia.
No other area in the Western Hemisphere has
ever been as devastated by war as Virginia was
during the Civil War.
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It is our sincere desire that the sesquicentennial
period will be one that will leave all Virginians,
as well as citizens throughout the United States and
beyond, with a better understanding of the past --
not just the war's military history, but also the
social, economic, political and psychological legacies
of the Civil War. It will be an opportunity to look
back and also a chance to look forward together --
a chance to truly understand, learn and grow. We welcome
your comments, invite your participation, and look
forward to commemorating this important chapter of
our shared history together.
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Virginia Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the American Civil War
©
2008 Commonwealth of Virginia
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