Pennsylvania Announces Details of Statewide Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War

Pennsylvania Announces Details of Statewide Commemoration of the 150th
Anniversary of the Civil War

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission today unveiled plans for the commemoration of the 150th
anniversary of the Civil War, highlighting the state's paramount role in the
war through traveling exhibits, special events and a content-rich Web site.

Convened at the request of Governor Edward G. Rendell, Pennsylvania Civil War
150 is a unified, statewide alliance that will attract visitors and enrich
their experience county by county through remarkable programming for the
sesquicentennial commemoration.

"While many of the great battles of the Civil War were epic in nature, the
story of this war in Pennsylvania is much more than just tactics and
strategy," said Barbara Franco, executive director of PHMC. "The Civil War
also is the story of individual soldiers and of women and children struggling
to survive in small towns and family farms all across the state and of African
Americans working to abolish slavery and join the United States Colored
Troops."

The PA Civil War 150 launch previewed the key initiatives for the
commemoration that will provide localized, unique experiences throughout the
state:

-- PACivilWar150.com, a dynamic Web site that unlocks the incredible
personal stories of Pennsylvanians both on the battlefield and at the
home front, the vast Civil War collections of the state's museums and
historical societies, and the state's numerous heritage tourism
attractions and trip-planning resources.

-- Pennsylvania Civil War Road Show, a traveling museum experience based
in
a 53-foot tractor trailer that will bring interactive exhibits and
unique programming to all 67 counties in the state from 2011 to 2015.
The Road Show will encourage residents and organizations in each
locality to share their stories and artifacts in conjunction with the
traveling exhibition.

Additional initiatives include a digitization project under the direction of
Penn State University that aims to unearth and organize Civil War collections
in an online format to preserve primary source materials and make them
accessible to the public and to scholars. The Heinz History Center in
Pittsburgh also will coordinate the publication of two books: Pennsylvania
Civil War in Photographs, a collection of rarely seen photos from the Civil
War era, and Pennsylvania African Americans in the Civil War Era, an account
of the African American experience during the same time period.

"Pennsylvania Civil War 150 is fortunate to have a strong alliance of partner
organizations to expertly coordinate statewide initiatives that will
positively impact Pennsylvania far beyond the four-year anniversary period,"
Franco said, noting that lead partners include PHMC, Pennsylvania Heritage
Society, Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Senator John Heinz History
Center.

Pennsylvania Civil War 150 is a statewide alliance of history, heritage, arts
and culture organizations convened by the PHMC and the Pennsylvania Heritage
Society to serve as the Commonwealth's official planning committee for the
commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War (2011-2015). PA Civil
War 150 will coordinate statewide initiatives and facilitate activities at the
regional and local levels to bring high-quality programming to the
commemoration. For more information, visit www.PACivilWar150.com.

Media Contact: Kirk Wilson, (717) 783-9882

SOURCE Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Kirk Wilson of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,
+1-717-783-9882