waltky
Wise ol' monkey
How ironic, on the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War we have a black President...
Civil War anniversary events go forward despite lack of funds
10 April,`11 - States and communities across the country are coming together to commemorate the Civil War's sesquicentennial without federal funding or a national commission.
Civil War anniversary events go forward despite lack of funds
10 April,`11 - States and communities across the country are coming together to commemorate the Civil War's sesquicentennial without federal funding or a national commission.
Efforts to provide federal funding for Civil War commemorations have thus far been unsuccessful. The Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., died in committee last year. Andrew Wilson, Jackson's spokesman, says the congressman is working on updating the legislation and reintroducing the bill, which could provide grants for programs and activities.
In light of this economic challenge, the Civil War Trust, a non-profit dedicated to preserving battlefields, views connecting local, regional and state organizations not just as an opportunity, but as an obligation, says spokeswoman Mary Koik. The trust's website, Civil War Trust: Saving America's Civil War Battlefields, links sesquicentennial events going on across the country. "You can read all you want in a book, but for a lot of people, it never quite clicks until you see it," she says.
Programs and events are ratcheting up and in some cases have already begun ahead of the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., on April 12, considered the first cannon fire of the war by historians. Charleston is planning a program that spans several days and includes lectures, re-enactments, movies, music and a solemn display of lights at the fort, says Robert Rosen, president of the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie Historic Trust. That's despite receiving no funds from the state, Rosen says.
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