Gettysburg Launches Blogs and Events to Observe the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War

Date: March 30, 2011
Contact: Katie Lawhon, [phone]

(Library of Congress)

To mark the 150^th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War, Gettysburg National Military Park is launching new social media programs, including a blog for history and current events and a blog for teachers and students of the Civil War.

From the Fields of Gettysburg is a new weekly blog by park rangers and historians that will explore a wide variety of history topics and park news.

"From the Fields of Gettysburg will be a wonderful resource for people anywhere in the world who want to know more about what happened here, and why it’s so important even today," said Scott Hartwig, a supervisory historian at Gettysburg National Military Park. "We can blog year-round, in any weather, and our visitors don’t even need to be in Gettysburg to participate."

In addition to Hartwig, numerous park historians and rangers will be contributing regularly, including Angie Atkinson, Matt Atkinson, Bert Barnett, Troy Harman, John Heiser, Tom Holbrook, Evangelina Rubalcava, and Karlton Smith. Katie Lawhon will write about park news and management issues.

The Gettysburg School Bus – a blog for Educators is a new monthly blog that will serve as a bridge between the park ranger and the teacher, offering answers for classroom questions, new ideas for teaching units in the classroom, bulletin boards, paper and project ideas, and cross-curricular connections with other teachers. Barbara Sanders, the park’s education specialist, is the blogger.

The blogs will debut on April 12 on the park website at www.nps.gov/gett.

Although the official 150th anniversary for the Battle of Gettysburg is July 1-3, 2013, Gettysburg’s commemoration will run from 2011 to 2015.

Gettysburg National Military Park is joining all other Civil War sites and a wide variety of community partners in commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. The National Park Service commemorates these defining events in our nation's history and their legacy in the continuing fight for civil rights. The National Park Service website at www.nps.gov/civilwar150 provides a comprehensive calendar of events for the anniversary period, as well as historical features and resources designed to illustrate the relevancy of events that occurred 150 years ago.

"Gettysburg events, activities and programs during the four years will honor the brave men and women whose courage and devotion to duty shaped our nation," said Bob Kirby, superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park. "We will include stories of both well-known and lesser-known events, soldiers and civilians, and an important goal of the commemoration is to reach new and younger audiences — Gettysburg for a New Generation."

Park programs are already underway, with planned signature events in 2013 to include commemorative programs for the battle anniversary in July, the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address in November, and two special seminars produced in cooperation with Gettysburg College and other partners.

The Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is taking the lead in marketing the many community events that are planned. The website at www.gettysburgcivilwar150.com has comprehensive events listings and visitor information.

Gettysburg National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service that preserves and protects the resources associated with the Battle of Gettysburg and the Soldiers' National Cemetery, and provides an understanding of the events that occurred there within the context of American history.