Major exhibit to focus on Civil War in Virginia

Written by Associated Press

Thursday, 13 January 2011 08:29

Siah Carter, a 22-year-old enslaved African American from Shirley Plantation, who risked his life and rowed a small boat out to the USS Monitor in hopes of being given sanctuary and a ride to freedom with the Union Army. He was the first of 18 slaves to escape from Shirley during that year. Library of Congress photo.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Virginia Historical Society is preparing a major exhibit on the Civil War, featuring more than 200 objects and 17 audiovisual programs.

Called "An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia,'' the exhibit opens in February and runs through December.

The Richmond museum says the exhibit is intended to promote an understanding of the wartime experiences of Virginians and those who served during the war.

Visitors will learn the stories of an escaped slave who joined the crew of the ironclad USS Monitor, a Petersburg businessman who fled war-torn Virginia with his family and a teenage Confederate private.

The society is partnering with the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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AP-CS-01-12-11 0200EST

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Henry V.L. Bird, a 21-year-old store clerk who enlisted in the Petersburg Grays (company C, 12th Virginia Infantry) two days after Virginia's secession from the Union. Virginia Historical Society, Accession No. 1994.108.6.

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 January 2011 09:23