The MCWA & the Sesquicentennial

From 2011 to 2015, efforts were undertaken across the nation to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. In Michigan, these efforts were authorized by Executive Order 2007-52, which directed the Michigan Historical Commission to lead this State’s commemoration. 

Two members of the Board of the MCWA were directly involved as members of the Commission. Both Brian James Egen and Jack Dempsey served on the Commission as gubernatorial appointees, representing the interests of the general public. In addition, both served as members and as Chairmen of the Michigan Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, which operated as day-to-day coordinating and recommending agent for the Commission. 

The activities of the Commission included:

• Convening a seminar on John Brown, Frederick Douglass, and their 1859 Detroit meeting
• Partnering with Grand Valley State for a second Sesquicentennial conference in 2010
• Creating an Academic Review Committee consisting of leading Civil War scholars, out of which Dr. Martin J. Hershock, University of Michigan-Dearborn, now advises the MCWA Publications Committee
• Partnering with the College for Creative Studies for a student competition to design a ground-breaking, non-traditional logo for use by affiliates
• Sponsoring an Essay Contest for elementary school children grades 3-12
• Collaborating with the Archives of Michigan to launch Michigan’s Civil War website http://micivilwar.org/
• Partnering with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to more fully develop and publish the State’s military history

Other members of the MCWA Board undertook special activities to commemorate the 150th anniversary. Matt Vanacker was primarily responsible for publication of a highly informative booklet by the Michigan Legislature entitled Michigan in the American Civil War, first appearing in 2014. In 2015, an evocative “Images of America” book entitled Remembering Michigan’s Civil War Soldiers, co-written by Dave Finney, was published because of inspiration provided by the Sesquicentennial. 

Board members gave book talks, made presentations, taught classes, and undertook other educational activities to inform and to inspire.

Most significantly, in August 2012 the National Park Service arranged for a “Michigan Day at Antietam” to afford Michiganders the opportunity to honor the role played by their forebears. An outgrowth of that special weekend was discovering the potential for erecting a monument commemorating Michigan’s participation in the Maryland Campaign in 1862.

A complete explanation of those circumstances, which led to formation of the MCWA in 2013, is contained in Michigan at Antietam.