Hampton Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial
Reflecting on 150 years
As Hampton completes its magnificent 400th anniversary, the city is preparing for yet another major commemorative activity -- the Civil War Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary). Hampton, primarily because of the Union’s control of Fort Monroe throughout the war, was a flashpoint for the conflict’s transition into a total war destined to effect social, political, economic, and technological changes. Few communities have the wealth of Civil War sites as does Hampton. Sites like Fort Monroe and the Emancipation Oak played a critical role in the conflict’s outcome. These are places where citizens, students, and travelers can touch history and gain greater understanding about the Civil War.
Hampton was the scene of numerous war-time firsts, including the Contraband of War Decision, Battle of Big Bethel, the Burning of Hampton, and the Battle of the Ironclads. These events have provided Hampton with a powerful heritage. The sites associated with these dramatic events give Hampton places where people can interface with history. Whether visiting the cell where Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned or standing atop Fort Wool’s ramparts where President Abraham Lincoln once stood, Hampton’s Civil War experience is filled with interpreted historic sites that will prompt people to visit and learn.
The Civil War Sesquicentennial is a unique opportunity for the City of Hampton to present and promote its Civil War heritage. The Hampton Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee will organize commemorative activities from 2011 - 2015. In addition to enhancing visitor access to, and understanding of, the Big Bethel Battlefield and Emancipation Oak, the committee seeks to develop annual programs commemorating events like the Contraband of War Decision. The events will present specialized learning activities and place-based educational techniques.
- Confederate President Jefferson Davis calls for March 27 to be a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.
- Following the Underground Railroad Route By Bicycle
- March is Women's History Month! Read the fascinating accounts of women spies hiding coded messages in women's hair, conductors of the Underground Railroad, soldiers disguised as men, surgeons, and advisors to the President!
- Teachers tackle race, economic disparity and history
- The President's Hymn: 'Give Thanks All Ye People'
- Thanksgiving Day during the Civil War
- Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation in a divided time: ‘one heart and one voice by the whole American People’
- What Abraham Lincoln found reading the Book of Job amid civil war
- Civil War stories on display at Lincoln Highway museum in Unity
- Who was Henry Benning, for whom Fort Benning in Columbus was named?
- Fort Gordon Army Base: Who was John Brown Gordon?
- From the Civil War to the football field, we have been celebrating the wrong values
- History and Healing: Removing Controversial Artifacts from the Civic Landscape
- How to Reframe the Civil War in the Classroom
- Man scores Abraham Lincoln autograph in box of trading cards
- Native Americans' role in the Civil War
- Abraham Lincoln Healed a Divided Nation. We Should Heed His Words Today.
- An escaped slave was the 'Florence Nightingale’ of Indiana's Civil War regiment
- A Southern Democrat survived impeachment trap and came to be in charge of Reconstruction
- New Statue Unveiled In Response To Richmond's Confederate Monuments