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Virginia Panel plans commemoration of 150th anniversary

Virginia was central to the Civil War, and a state commission plans to make the commonwealth central to a multi-year commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States.

"It’s a commemoration, not a celebration," said Speaker of the House of Delegates William J. Howell Jr., R-Fredericksburg, who chairs the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.

The commission was set up two years ago to plan how the state’s role in the events of 1861-65, and those leading up to the war years, should be remembered across Virginia.

"Virginia played a central part" in a war that was significant to the entire country, Howell said on Tuesday.

The commission has plans to kick off its six-year retrospective a year from now, on April 29, 2009, with the first of seven free conferences on Civil War subjects.

"It’s an opportunity for both education and economic development," Howell said.
Read entire article at http://www.winchesterstar.com