Civil War sesquicentennial panel's plans coming together

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By Preston Knight -- pknight@nvdaily.com

WOODSTOCK -- Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War locally is taking shape the way a soldier in battle operates -- on the move.

As the Shenandoah County Civil War sesquicentennial committee continues its work to commemorate the milestone anniversary, one of the common features is how mobile all of the educational efforts are, be it locally or from some other source. The county group's first project, a "Caring for the Wounded" brochure, has received interest from outside the state, committee member Natalie Wills said, and that should be viewed as a harbinger of things to come.

"Kudos to everyone," she said.

The National Park Service, led by Eric Campbell, has a large travel box with displays that help people visualize the 1864 Valley Campaign. It will pass through the Virginia Museum of the Civil War in New Market in May, said Wills, who is also the county's tourism director.

"It's all in a big box," she said. "It's actually really cool."

Nothing may highlight the travels of sesquicentennial celebrating more than "An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia," a panel exhibit heading to various places, which opened at the Handley Regional Library in Winchester on Monday and will be there through Oct. 17. A free reception is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today.

While the county is not involved in the traveling exhibit, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation is promoting it, and for local residents, Winchester may be the closest it will come, committee members said. It features images, interpretative text and a companion website designed for mobile devices.

Produced by the Virginia Historical Society in partnership with the American Civil War Commission, "An American Turning Point" is co-sponsored locally by the Handley library and Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitor Bureau, a news release states. It is based on a 3,000-square-foot gallery show at the historical society in Richmond.

"We hope that it inspires visitors to investigate how the war impacted their community," Andrew Talkov, who coordinated the exhibit's development for the society, says in the release.

The civilian-focused "Surviving War" portion of the larger exhibit will come to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in February, and the military "Waging War" portion in August, according to Terry Heder, who works for the battlefields foundation and serves on the Shenandoah County committee.

Wills said the committee also is considering an interactive map project, expecting 2014 to be a big year with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of New Market and looking at ending the sesquicentennial with Confederate reunions, which occurred at Fishers Hill and New Market.