Civil War Sesquicentennial

The Fort Sumter / Fort Moultrie Trust (the Trust) will volunteer to act as the financial agent and “coordinating organization” for the official commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War to begin in 2010 and conclude in 2015. Checks made payable to the Trust or to the Coordinating Committee for the Sesquicentennial will be deposited in an account managed by the Trust. The Trust would create a new committee, the Lowcountry Sesquicentennial Coordinating Committee, to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War including the firing on Fort Sumter. This commemoration committee would consist of the Board of the Trust and four other citizens representing the diverse community of the Lowcountry.

The Coordinating Committee’s mission would be to coordinate the commemoration of the Civil War during the Sesquicentennial years 2010 – 2015; to promote through commemorative programs, educational events, re-enactments lectures, and other events, knowledge about the Civil War and American history and the importance of the Civil War in American history. The mission includes teaching the general public about the causes, course, and legacies of the Civil War from the Union, Confederate, and African-American perspective; to educate students and young people about the pivotal role of this defining event in our nation’s history and its role in shaping the freedoms and advantages we take for granted. It is important to know that the Sesquicentennial is not a celebration. There is no joy to be found in a war that caused the deaths of over 620,000 Americans – men, women and children, black and white, from the north and the south – who lived, fought and died for that which they believed. There is much we can learn from them and from that extraordinary conflict, as the lessons of history are meant to be examined, understood, and applied.

The Committee will coordinate the commemoration of the first shot of the Civil War in the Charleston area with the state, municipalities, civic groups, re-enactor groups, heritage groups, colleges, law enforcement and others, and will coordinate a commemoration of the raising of the flag over Fort Sumter in April of 2015 as well as other events during the Sesquicentennial period. The Committee will coordinate events with other interested groups and will act as a conduit for funds and grants to be disbursed to other groups. It will be the official sponsor of Sesquicentennial events, maintain a website and community calendar, and coordinate a lecture series throughout the Sesquicentennial period.

Aiding the work of the coordinating committee will be two advisory groups, one consisting of historians and the other of civic leaders, re-enactors, members of the heritage community and other interested people. The committee will ask lowcountry counties and each of the lowcountry municipalities to appoint a liaison person to coordinate events.

The Coordinating Committee will require a staff person to handle administrative matters, including the creation and maintenance of a website and community calendar. A part-time staff person will be hired in 2008 and a full-time staff person in 2009. The Coordinating Committee will contract with the Charleston Library Society (164 King Street, Charleston) to hire and support this staff person, and provide an office, telephone, computer and fax.

The Coordinating Committee will seek funding from a variety of sources, including the General Assembly, municipalities and counties, local and national foundations, historical societies, heritage groups, individuals, businesses, and sponsors. The National Park Service has a fund donated by concessionaires. Once the Coordinating Committee is established, immediate steps will be taken to approach the General Assembly and the City of Charleston for funds to be used for planning.

Funds will be used exclusively to support sesquicentennial events and programs. However, part of the fundraising efforts will be for the purpose of providing funds to the Trust to support Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie and all funds remaining in the Committee’s account at the end of the Sesquicentennial Commemoration will be used by the Trust in support of Ft. Sumter and Ft. Moultrie.