Michigan Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee Accomplishments, August 2011

On the heels of hosting the first CWS event in the nation in March 2009, Michigan was notably busy during Fall 2010 with a second CWS-related conference at Grand Valley State University in October, convening of the full complement of Partners in November at the Center, the unveiling then of the website and logo, and ongoing efforts to seek and obtain funding.  Since issuance of EO 2007-52, the Commission and Center had worked diligently on implementation (see the MICWS workplan for details).

The first “official” Sesquicentennial year activities, as of mid-August, include:

February 4: Michigan and the Civil War published with author proceeds to MI CWS

April 3: Detroit Free Press: “As the nation begins observing the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States, the Michigan Page will devote this month to Michigan’s role in the war and plans to commemorate that terrible but heroic time”; this story represented a host of publicity this (Fort Sumter) month

April 12: Michigan Historical Museum opens  new exhibit “From Plowshares to Swords”, featuring guest speaker Kristina Austin Scarcelli, Daughter of the 24th Michigan and 2006 Mrs. Michigan United States; Free Press noon webchat with Prof. Marty Hershock and Jack Dempsey; Mayor of Grand Rapids issues proclamation

April 13: SR 36 approved by Michigan Senate

April 16: Civil War Encampment held as part of grand opening weekend; over twelve hundred people hosted inside the museum, nearly one hundred reenactors  present on the grounds outside to demonstrate and educate, and some twenty groups put up tables to tell their story as part of the commemoration

May 19: Wayne County Commission approves resolution

May 25: Awards ceremony for Civil War essay contest at Center

June 3: Friends of Michigan History partner with Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Earl Nelson Singers to present Civil War Concert on Capitol steps

In addition:

– Oakland County publishes an “Oakland County in the Civil War” map for use in libraries, museums, and classrooms

– The Henry Ford’s National Archives Civil War exhibit opens in May and runs to October, and features a Loomis Battery exhibit

– The Henry Ford exhibits the Emancipation Proclamation to some 21,000 visitors in June

– The Henry Ford features three summer CWS lectures

– Several other books published on Michigan, including:

– Grand Traverse: The Civil War Era, by John Mitchell

– Answering the Call to Duty: Saving Custer, Heroism at Gettysburg, POWs and other Stories of Michigan’s Small Town Soldiers in the Civil War, by Rick Liblong

– The 4th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War, by Martin Bertera and Kim Crawford

– Echoes of Distant Thunder, by Frank Slaughter