November 2009 Ohio Histore-news header image with image-mapped links to various OHS web pages Link to Ohio Historical Society Enews page Link to Ohio Historical Society Programs page Link to Ohio Historical Society Get Involved page Link to Ohio Historical Society Exhibits page Link to Ohio Historical Society Calendar page Link to Ohio Historical Society Enews Archive page Link to Ohio Historical Society Home page
spacer
E-News Home || Next Article

Landing page A photos Ohio Historical Society, Cleveland State University Launch Civil War Sesquicentennial Web site
Public, Educators, Local History Groups Asked to Contribute Online

What do you know about Ohio's Civil War story? Are you aware that Ohio's contribution to the Civil War had a profound influence on American history? Have you visited any of the Underground Railroad sites or Civil War battlefields in the state?

To help raise awareness about Ohio's pivotal role in Civil War history, the Ohio Historical Society and Cleveland State University's Center for Public History and Digital Humanities recently launched www.ohiocivilwar150.org to commemorate the upcoming 150th anniversary of the war in 2011 to 2015. The Web site is a collection of information as well as a dynamic tool for the public, educators and local history groups to collaborate and share their knowledge of Ohio's fascinating Civil War history.

Interactive History
"The Ohio Civil War 150 Web site is a new approach to observe the anniversary of the war," according to Jackie Barton, state coordinator of the Civil War 150 commemoration at the Ohio Historical Society. "It was created to engage users to develop Ohio's historical importance in the war through public input and file sharing."

There are numerous opportunities for you to share your knowledge by submitting content on the site's Calendar, Timeline, Discussions, Collections & Exhibits and Links pages. For instance, the Timeline, which outlines the progression of Ohio's involvement in the abolition movement and the Civil War, is an ongoing collaborative project for which you can submit pictures, summaries and links relating to a historical event during this period. In addition, the Web site provides opportunities for you to ask questions as well as discuss and debate Civil War topics in the Discussions forum.

"This Web site is a grassroots effort," Barton said. "As a clearinghouse of statewide events, news and external resources relating to the Civil War anniversary, we encourage community and local history groups to upload relevant information and external links to the Ohio Civil War 150 Web site. Their content, their local Civil War history, will complement information, digitized collections and online exhibits provided by the Ohio Historical Society."

Collections & Exhibits
The Ohio Civil War 150 Web site contains digitized collections and opportunities to learn more about Ohio's role in the Civil War through online exhibits on such topics as "Women on the Frontlines," "Ohio Volunteer Infantry" and "The Colors of War: Ohio Civil War Flags." By contributing your own photographs to the site, the Collections & Exhibits database will grow and become a clearinghouse of historical photographs, digitized artifacts, scanned documents and diaries as well as current event and reenactment photographs.

Teaching Resources
The anniversary of the Civil War is an excellent opportunity for teachers to introduce Ohio's Civil War history to a new generation of students. The Teaching Resources section of the Web site offers a wealth of learning opportunities for educators and students through file sharing, online exhibits, field trip suggestions, submitted lesson plans and activities, distance-learning opportunities and external resources.

"To help connect Ohio's Civil War history with their students, teachers are encouraged to share their resources by submitting lesson plans, activities and links to the Web site," Barton said. "We want this site to be the ultimate educational resource."

For More Information
Users of www.ohiocivilwar150.org are encouraged to check back often as the Web site grows over time. As content and resources related to the Civil War and the upcoming sesquicentennial commemoration are added, the opportunities to participate in events, visit historic sites and learn more about Ohio history will increase.

Ohio's Civil War 150 web site (www.ohiocivilwar150.org) Harper's Weekly published this image on August 15, 1863, entitled "Entry of Morgan's Raiders into Washington, Ohio," when reporting on the recent raid of Confederate Brigadier Gen. John Hunt Morgan's cavalry troops through southern Indiana and southern and eastern Ohio, which occurred from June 11–July 26, 1863. (Image: Ohio Historical Society; AL06898 in OhioPix) Portrait of Daniel McCook Sr. from Carroll County, Ohio, ca. 1850-1863. McCook was killed at the Battle of Buffington Island on the Ohio River in July 1863. He was the patriarch of the McCook Family, known as the "Fighting McCooks." (Image: Ohio Historical Society; AL00538 in OhioPix) Gen. Ulysses S. Grant posed with his staff while campaigning in Virginia during the Civil War in 1864. (Image: Ohio Historical Society; AL06095 in OhioPix)
spacer
Link to the Ohio Historical Society Web Site, The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that serves as the state's partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio's history, archaeology and natural history.