At its April, 2007 meeting, the members of the South Carolina Civil War
Sesquicentennial Advisory Board decided that it should get the wishes of the
people of the state about what they would like to see done for the
sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War in South Carolina. The board
directed that citizen input meetings be planned statewide. Rodger Stroup acting
as chair of the group appointed a committee consisting of Jannie Harriot, Mary
Morgan, John Tucker, and Allen Roberson to implement this idea.
The committee decided that
seven meetings should be held around the state to get
citizen input. Locations, times, and dates of the meetings follow: Aiken,
September 18, 7 P.M., Aiken County Historical Museum, 433 Newberry Street,
Southwest; Charleston, Wednesday, October 3, 7 P.M., Charleston Museum, 360
Meeting Street; Columbia, Tuesday, October 9, 7 P.M., South Carolina Department
of Archives and History, 8301 Parklane Road; Beaufort, Tuesday, October 16, 6
P.M., Beaufort County Library, 311 Scott Street; York, Thursday, October 18, 7
P.M. McCelvey Center, 212 East Jefferson Street; Florence, Monday, October 22, 7
P.M., Florence County Library, 509 Dargan Street; and Greenville, Tueday,
October 30, 6 P.M., Greenville County Library, 25 Heritage Green Place.
Dr.
Rodger E. Stroup, director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and
History, facilitated the meetings. Dr. Fritz Hamer, curator of history at the
South Carolina State Museum, and Allen Roberson, director of the South Carolina
Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, attended most of the meetings as
well as other members of the South Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory
Board. The committee was careful to select facilities where all citizens would
be welcomed and would feel at ease.
The meetings drew approximately 250 citizens who enthusiastically shared their
thoughts and ideas about how the sesquicentennial of the Civil War should be
observed. More than 60 citizens attended the Charleston meeting, making it the
best attended one and the smallest meeting in attendance was the Columbia one
with seventeen citizens present. Citizens representing all segments of the
population attended the meetings. A majority of those present were white men;
however, women were present at all of the meetings. African Americans were
present at four of the seven meetings. Representatives of institutions of higher
learning were present at four of the meetings. Representatives of the Sons
Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, as well as
Civil War re-enactors, were present at most of the meetings. Also in attendance
were representatives of chambers of commerce, patriotic and civic organizations,
local historical societies, museums, and tourism commissions.
The participants were asked four questions:
1. promote a suitable statewide observance of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War;
2. cooperate and assist national, state, and local organizations with programs and activities suitable for the sesquicentennial observance;
3. assist in ensuring that any observance of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War is inclusive and appropriately recognizes the experiences and points of view of all people affected by the Civil War; and
4. provide assistance for the development of programs, projects, and activities of the Civil War that have lasting education value.
The South Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Board shall have the following duties:
1. plan, develop, and carry out programs and activities appropriate to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War era and encourage the development of programs that ensure the commemoration results in a positive legacy and has long-term benefits;
2. encourage interdisciplinary examination of the Civil War;
3. facilitate Civil War related activities throughout the State;
4. encourage civic, historical, educational, economic, and other organizations across the State to organize and participate in activities to expand the understanding and appreciation of the significance of the Civil War;
5. coordinate and facilitate the public distribution of scholarly research, publications, and interpretation of the Civil War; and
6. provide technical assistance to local organizations and nonprofit organizations to further the commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.
Other thoughts about the role of the Advisory Board that came from the statewide meetings are:
1. develop a mission statement;
2. establish goals;
3. lobby for state funds and use these funds to establish a grants program for local communities;
4. request that the legislation creating the South Carolina Civil War Advisory Board add the Director of Penn Center, additional African American representatives, and a representative from the upstate and the Pee Dee;
5. employ a consulting firm to study the economic benefits resulting from the observance and use the results to request funds from the General Assembly and private corporations;
6. assist local Charleston organizations with the sesquicentennial observance of the signing of the Ordinance of Secession (December 20, 1860) and the firing on Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861);
7. host a website with events, programs planned for the sesquicentennial throughout the state;
8. cooperate with other states planning observance for the sesquicentennial of the Civil War;
9. work to make the observance an educational process with positive results;
10. serve as a clearing house for events and programming throughout the state; and
11. assist local communities in planning their events and giving constructive guidance and appropriate recommendations for sources of needs.
The one key element expressed at all the meetings is that the sesquicentennial
of the Civil War affords an excellent chance for an educational opportunity and
the South Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Board should have this
goal as its primary objective. The opinion reiterated over and over was the
importance of accurate interpretation of the history of the period and the
people involved based on facts. The observance should include what life was like
for all the people from all sections of the state and not just wealthy planters
along the coast. The history of the period before the Civil War should be
examined for the various causes of the Civil War and the history of
Reconstruction after the Civil War should be examined for its effects in shaping
the history of the state.
An issue, which drew many comments at each of the meetings, is whether the South
Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Board should endorse local events
and programming. The general consensus is that the Board should not make
endorsements, but rather serve as coordinator, facilitator, and collaborator.
The Advisory Board should not get directly involved in running local events, but
it could offer guidance as to the appropriateness of an event or program. The
Advisory Board should set the right tone for the entire observance and the
observance should be fun, educational, and exciting. The Advisory Board should
employ the latest technology to reach the widest audience, especially young
people. The Board should perform a coordinating role to prevent duplication of
events occurring at the same time. Additionally, the Advisory Board should serve
as clearing house for programming around the state, and if state money is
appropriated, should develop a matching competitive grants program with explicit
guidelines and peer review. The Advisory Board should promote education, but it
should not establish guidelines for endorsing educational programs as many local
groups that currently do educational programs about the Civil War period in
schools already have established standards for participating in school
activities.
At all the statewide meetings, there was agreement that
the South Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Board should request
state funds from the General Assembly to assist local communities around the
state with their planning and activities for the sesquicentennial of the Civil
War. At several of the meetings local participants noted that state funding
would be critical in helping small communities with their activities. Funding
would also greatly assist them in marketing their programs. It was further
suggested that if no funds were available it would be helpful if the South
Carolina Sesquicentennial Advisory Board could provide guidance and expertise to
small communities with their planning. There was unanimous opinion that there
should be a plan of action developed before requesting state funding. An idea
often heard was there needs to be a matching state grants programs as a source
of help for local communities. Before requesting state funds, the South Carolina
Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Board should hire a consulting firm or
contract with the USC business school or one of the other state’s universities,
to show how much money could be generated for the state’s economy from tourists
attending sesquicentennial related programming, events, and places.
At most all of the meetings, participants felt that is was important for the
state to assist the various local Charleston organizations with funding for the
sesquicentennial of the signing of the Ordinance of Secession and the firing on
Fort Sumter. Again, it is believed that these two events will bring not only
national attention to South Carolina, but also international attention. These
two events are key initial ones for the entire sesquicentennial observance and
should be staged in keeping with their significance and importance.
Another source of proposed funding was corporations. This idea was discussed at
length and some people in attendance at the meetings believe corporations would
not want to fund anything associated with the Civil War. Along the corporation
line, it was suggested that corporations, which had received tax breaks when
coming to the state, should be asked for funds for the observance. At one
meeting, someone suggested that due to the economic impact of the observance on
the state’s economy from tourists the State Chamber of Commerce should be
involved in the observance and should be given a seat on the South Carolina
Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Board. Again due to the tourist impact, the
hotel industry was suggested as a possible funding source. It was also suggested
to work to see if hotel taxes could be earmarked for the sesquicentennial.
Accommodations’ tax was also mentioned as a possible funding source as well as
revenue from movies made in South Carolina.
Other possible sources of funding include Parks, Recreation, and Tourism,
Heritage Corridor, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for
the Arts, and the South Carolina Committee for the Humanities.
Another possibility for funding the observance would be to sell a number of
commemorative items. Some of the items suggested included jewelry items such as
charms, various coins and medallions, publications, art works, and tee shirts.
Several participants doubted there would be much federal or state money
available for the observance and suggested that groups planning sesquicentennial
activities should look to their cities and counties for assistance.
1. Host a major web site
2. Establish Civil War trails and other related trails to bring tourists to the state
3. Prepare a Civil War brochure with listing of all relevant state historical markers, hard copy as well as posted on web site
4. Establish a Speaker’s Bureau for schools and for civic and patriotic organizations
5. Involve the higher education community to plan appropriate seminars and programs for the academic community as well as the general public
6. Develop programs on what life was like for the average family both black and white during the Civil War era
7. Promote the preservation of Civil War battlefields and other Civil War sites
8. Highlight the role that African Americans played in the Civil War
9. Compile an appropriate reading list about the Civil War era and its participants to be distributed to schools throughout the state
10. Plan a series of local symposiums around the state to focus on history of the region
11. Encourage family reunions in black communities around the state and collect oral histories of the Civil War from the reunion participants
12. Promote the inclusion of upstate stories that happened during the Civil War
13. Develop a major exhibition about the Civil War in SC, have a smaller traveling one, and develop panels that could go to small local museums
14. Promote and encourage battle reenactments such as River’s Bridge, Battle of Aiken, Potter’s Raid, Secessionville, Ft. Wagner, Ft. Sumter, Honey Hill, and others as well as promoting living history demonstrations for the observance
15. Plan concerts with period music and host a major concert on the State House grounds each year during the observance
16. Plan a series of programs focusing on the home front, highlighting the role of children and women during the Civil War
17. Partner with ETV to produce programs on the Civil War and related issues
18. Promote the teaching of SC history in public schools and higher education
19. Postage stamps
20. Medallions and coins
21. Fireworks displays
22. Special observances for the signing of the Ordinance of Secession and the firing on Fort Sumter
23. Face up to the realities of the period on ALL SIDES
24. Reprint articles from the centennial that appeared in the Post Courier and in the 1965 supplement from The State on the burning of Columbia
25. Promote archaeology projects for Civil War battlefields and sites
26. Promote genealogy on line and tie that to Civil War related records such as pension applications
27. Produce biographies of Civil War heroes
28. Make the observance inclusive, using the Emancipation Proclamation to highlight the role of African Americans in SC during the time
29. Teach the history of the Civil War period in the state’s schools, using the Teaching American history program
30. Raise money to restore Civil War era flags, publicize these, produce a publication about these, and sponsor tour of these around the state
31. Acquire funding for purchasing and publishing Civil War materials
32. Preserve materials from the Civil War period and make them accessible to the public
33. South Carolina in your attic
34. “Watch Night” service at the end of the year at one of the historic churches in the Gullah/Geechee Nation to show where the minds of the enslaved were during the Civil War
35. A special series of re-enactments in different parts of the Gullah/Geechee Nation that depict the lifestyles of the enslaved people, those that went on to serve in the 1st SC Volunteer Regiment, and the voices of the people like Edward Filbrick, Laura Towne, Ellen Murray, and Charlotte Forten would be incorporated in this as well
36. Special showings and panel discussions of films related to the Civil War and concluding with the film, “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War.”
37. “Skirt of Arms: Women’s Voices during the Civil War,” a living exhibition. This would be a series of women speaking the words from the journals of women who lived during the Civil War era
1. Capitalize on the state’s rich history and make the observance one that will be remembered as a fun as well as an educational event
2. Establish a Civil War Center that will be sustained after 2015
3. Develop a list of all SC veterans, both black and white, and erect a monument with the names of those who died in the Civil War
4. Produce publications of various units
5. Develop accurate educational resources to be distributed in the state’s schools
6. Work for the preservation of Civil War sites as well as other historic sites
7. Teach teachers about Civil War history
8. Develop tour maps to be printed and placed on the web
9. Get Civil War history placed in core educational tests
10. Make the month of May Confederate Memorial Month
11. Take original manuscripts such as the Ordinance of Secession to the public
12. Provide funds for the maintenance of cemeteries in general and Civil War ones in particular
13. Work to have SC history required of all students in the state’s schools
14. Historical accuracy
15. Tourism money
16. Extend the commemoration beyond 2015, focus on Reconstruction events and personalities
17. Better race relations; work to get an accurate picture of the Civil War for 1/3 of the state’s population
18. Better understanding of events leading up to the Civil War and the causes of the Civil War
19. Hold a memorial service for the Union soldiers who were imprisoned and died at Florence stockade
20. Plan now for the bicentennial of the Civil War by keeping detailed records of the sesquicentennial observance
21. Better race relations
22. Civil War was the defining event in our state’s and nation’s history and out of the conflict came unity---celebration of the rejoining of the nation
23. An opportunity to enhance the image of the state and to show the nation how far we have come as a state
24. 50 years from now, people will see that the observance was inclusive; we were accurate; we told the truth; we enhanced the image of the state, and out of the observance came unity and a renewed sense of purpose as citizens of the state
25. Make the sesquicentennial a model for the 200th anniversary.