Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War in North Carolina, 2011-2015

The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Office of Archives and History, established a team in 2006 to plan for commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

The mission is to prepare appropriate and historically accurate state-sponsored activities to commemorate the

richness
diversity
significance

of North Carolinians’ Civil War experience.

Accordingly, the objective is to bring an understanding of the Civil War’s complex issues and interpret the events for a new generation.

"North Carolina and the Civil War: Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory" is the theme. The sunburst image logo is derivative of a button worn by North Carolina soldiers, 1861-1865.

An ambitious three-part series of panels will be held:

Memory: North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, spring 2011

Freedom: Winston-Salem (Wake Forest University), 2013, coinciding with the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

Sacrifice: Wilmington, 2015

A call for papers will be forthcoming.

Activities

Thirteen of the twenty-seven State Historic Sites will launch a new, comprehensive, education initiative in 2011 to highlight the North Carolina experience.

State Historic Sites with site-specific programs are:

Bennett Place
Bentonville Battlefield
Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson
CSS Neuse
Fort Fisher
State Capitol
Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace

Non-traditional Civil War sites will also offer programs:

Duke Homestead
Historic Edenton
Somerset Place
Historic Stagville
Tryon Palace
Roanoke Island Festival Park

Archaeological work will be undertaken at selected venues.

A teacher workshop for renewal credit is planned about the programs which will be designed to meet eighth grade curriculum standards.

Exhibitions and Special Events

The North Carolina Museum of History will build upon previous exhibits and highlight aspects of the war over the course of the anniversary period.

The North Carolina Museum of Art plans an exhibit of American art of the period.

Noteworthy milestones precede commemoration

State Capitol, December 1, 2008: Jefferson Davis and Andrew Johnson were born in 1808. A program will commemorate Johnson, a Raleigh native, featuring Dan Carter, University of South Carolina.
North Carolina Museum of History, February 12, 2009, program to commemorate the 200th birthday of the sixteenth President and contrast leadership styles of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.
Speakers slated are Dr. Paul Escott of Wake Forest University, Dr. Jospeh T. Glatthaar and Dr. Heather Williams of UNC-Chapel Hill, Dr. Loren Schweninger of UNC-Greensboro, Dr. John David Smith of UNC-Charlotte, and Dr. William Harris of N.C. State University.
This program will be offered in cooperation with the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Dr Jeffrey J. Crow, Deputy Secretary, Archives and History, is North Carolina’s state liason to this commission.

New Ventures

The Division of Historic Sites and Properties will initiate a broad-based educatiuonal program geared toward eighth grade students.

The Historical Publications Office will publish new books and posters, a series of reprints, and will continue the volumes in the ongoing North Carolina troop roster series.

A North Carolina Civil War Atlas, conceived by Mark A. Moore, will be published in a collaborative effort with the University of North Carolina Press

Also being discussed are placement of one or more monuments, establishment of a speakers bureau, and heritage tourism-based marketing efforts.

Committee

Dr. Jeffrey J. Crow, Deputy Secretary, Archives and History, established the Commemoration Committee. He noted that the department long has had a commitment to projects associated with the Civil War and, during the anniversary, those efforts will intensify. The Cultural Resources team is co-chaired by by Keith Hardison, Director of the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, and Michael Hill, Research Branch Supervisor.

An advisory panel of leading Civil War historians will consult with staff and guide development and execution of programming.

With all programming, the committee wishes to reach the widest possible audience, extending the reach of the Office of Archives and History geographically, thematically, and demographically.