In 2009, the Georgia Historical Society (GHS) launched the Civil War 150 Historical Marker Project, a partnership between the society and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. GHS had additional support from the Georgia Battlefields Association and the Georgia Department of Labor.
Using an old form of public history — historical markers — and coupling it with recent scholarship and online technology, this nationally recognized initiative builds heritage tourism and promotes a better understanding of the conflict.
More than 90 percent of Georgia’s 1,000 Civil War markers erected in the 1950s for the Civil War Centennial are narrowly focused on battles and leaders. There was nothing on African-Americans and women, Unionists and opposition to the Confederacy, the home front and slavery’s role in causing and shaping the conflict.
To address this, GHS installed 15 new markers that offer a broader, more complete picture of the war than was possible half-century ago. An innovative website and free smart-phone application allow visitors to use markers along with Google maps to create driving tours based on topics of their interest.
These markers are changing perceptions about the war. Our willingness to incorporate new scholarship and tackle controversial topics has sparked a dialogue about the relevance and meaning of the past, which is what public history institutions like GHS are supposed to do.
Markers on the link between slavery and the 1861 secession convention; the U.S. Army’s Civil War quartermaster general born in Augusta; the return to slavery of U.S. Colored Troop POWs by Confederate authorities, and how the fall of Atlanta assured Lincoln’s re-election and the United States’ victory in the war challenge the public to stand on new ground and see the past and, hence, the present in a new way.
A prime example is the “Burning of Atlanta” marker, which triggered opposition from the NAACP because it was erected where the destruction began on present-day Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Still equating the Civil War with glorification of the Confederacy, the NAACP considered the marker an insult to the memory of the slain civil rights leader.
But a marker at that location about the end of the Confederacy — and slavery — was eminently appropriate for people, black and white, who see the war’s legacy as preservation of the United States, vindication of constitutional government and African-American liberation. For weeks, this welcomed and beneficial discussion was carried on in the media, leading many to a new understanding of why the Civil War matters in the 21st century.
The ongoing debate about the meaning and legacy of the Civil War demonstrates that topics like secession, states’ rights, federal power and race are as crucial today as they were 150 years ago. By taking an honest and inclusive look at the past, the historical society helps Americans gain a better understanding of the present and find answers to the vexing questions that still face us in our quest to form a more perfect Union.
W. Todd Groce is president and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society.
