Pennsylvania Announces Details of Statewide Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission today unveiled plans for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, highlighting the state’s paramount role in the war through traveling exhibits, special events and a content-rich Web site.

Convened at the request of Governor Edward G. Rendell, Pennsylvania Civil War 150 is a unified, statewide alliance that will attract visitors and enrich their experience county by county through remarkable programming for the sesquicentennial commemoration.

“While many of the great battles of the Civil War were epic in nature, the story of this war in Pennsylvania is much more than just tactics and strategy,” said Barbara Franco, executive director of PHMC. “The Civil War also is the story of individual soldiers and of women and children struggling to survive in small towns and family farms all across the state and of African Americans working to abolish slavery and join the United States Colored Troops.”

The PA Civil War 150 launch previewed the key initiatives for the commemoration that will provide localized, unique experiences throughout the state:

• PACivilWar150.com, a dynamic Web site that unlocks the incredible personal stories of Pennsylvanians both on the battlefield and at the home front, the vast Civil War collections of the state’s museums and historical societies, and the state’s numerous heritage tourism attractions and trip-planning resources.
  

• Pennsylvania Civil War Road Show, a traveling museum experience based in a 53-foot tractor trailer that will bring interactive exhibits and unique programming to all 67 counties in the state from 2011 to 2015. The Road Show will encourage residents and organizations in each locality to share their stories and artifacts in conjunction with the traveling exhibition.
  

Additional initiatives include a digitization project under the direction of Penn State University that aims to unearth and organize Civil War collections in an online format to preserve primary source materials and make them accessible to the public and to scholars. The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh also will coordinate the publication of two books: Pennsylvania Civil War in Photographs, a collection of rarely seen photos from the Civil War era, and Pennsylvania African Americans in the Civil War Era, an account of the African American experience during the same time period.

“Pennsylvania Civil War 150 is fortunate to have a strong alliance of partner organizations to expertly coordinate statewide initiatives that will positively impact Pennsylvania far beyond the four-year anniversary period,” Franco said, noting that lead partners include PHMC, Pennsylvania Heritage Society, Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Senator John Heinz History Center.

Pennsylvania Civil War 150 is a statewide alliance of history, heritage, arts and culture organizations convened by the PHMC and the Pennsylvania Heritage Society to serve as the Commonwealth’s official planning committee for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War (2011-2015). PA Civil War 150 will coordinate statewide initiatives and facilitate activities at the regional and local levels to bring high-quality programming to the commemoration. For more information, visit www.PACivilWar150.com.

Media Contact: Kirk Wilson, (717) 783-9882

SOURCE Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission