Scorcher!!!!! 
It is still sweltering and the Sesquicentennial is going full blast. Mr. Howler had to go up to Prince William Hospital and he said this evening there was a fleet of ambulances bringing in the war wounded…from the heat. Many of the friends are in period dress. I asked him if Robert E. Lee was up there and he said, no, he wasn’t at first Manassas. Geez! So much for my attempt at humor.
JEB, Jackson and Mosby are all asleep still and enjoying the AC.
You would think that after all that they would have just all gone home. What a horrible war. We soon get to relive it. The Sesquicentennial is almost upon us and I feel a strong wave of depression coming over me.
This month’s issue (actually it might say August 2011) of Smithsonian Magazine features The Battle of Bull Run: The End of Illusions on the cover. The article, written by Ernest B. Furguson, begins:
Both North and South expected victory to be glorious and quick, but the first major battle signaled the long and deadly war to come.
To those of us who are local, the article was not particularly revealing but the fact that it was about our area and about an event we have been anticipating for several years makes the article a must-read. It provided an excellent in-depth coverage for a nation that also commemorates the most dreadful period in our nation’s history.
The longer I live the more horrible that war becomes to me. I fear too many people will celebrate. There is nothing to celebrate other than death and destruction of property, stock and human beings. So I will be a grouch and stay home.
Will anyone be going to most of the events? Will the county and City make profits on the events? Will we be overrun with visitors?
Further reading: The Battle of Bull Run: The End of Illusions
Jennifer Buske has written an article about the area plans for the Sesquicentennial for the Washington Post entitled “As Civil War anniversary nears, Manassas sees a historic opportunity.” In the Friday the 13th article she writes what begins as an ode to deceased event planner Creston Owen and takes us though the history of the arriving at the Sesquicentennial. Included in the article is a comparison between the Manassas Battlefield and Gettysburg.
Any attempts to compare the two battlefields ended about the time of the battles themselves. Manassas is not Gettysburg and never will be, based pretty much on location, location, location, both then and now. Gettysburg pretty much is a dedicated battlefield. Manassas is a suburb of D.C. And here is the gist of the problem.
According to the Washington Post:
Playing off the excitement of the sesquicentennial, Corey A. Stewart, the Board of County Supervisors chairman, said he wants to begin branding Prince William as a military history corridor where people can stop at the battlefield, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and the future American Wartime Museum. That attraction is scheduled to open in 2014 and cover every era of war from World War I to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In today’s News and Messenger, there is an article entitled “Tourism agency preps for Sesquicentennial” which made for an interesting little read. PWC chairman of the BOCS did a stand up comedy routine as content for the piece. Let’s focus on some local news. First, the article from News and Messenger:
Tourism Agency Preps for Sesquicentennial
July 21, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary, or sesquicentennial, of the Civil War’s Battle of Bull Run, and tourism officials planning commemorative events are falling heavy on the theme of peace.
“We want to have a rolling series of events, basically for five years, because this is a national celebration and a state celebration,” the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau interim director, Sharon Cavileer, told Prince William supervisors Tuesday. Plans were to follow the state’s plan for commemoration and show the extent of the Civil War’seffects from a range of perspectives—from civilian to slave to soldier, both Union and Confederate.
“In Prince William, the sesquicentennial is an American legacy of war, peace and reconciliation,” Cavileer said, adding that planned events include a speech from a Nobel peace prize winner and a Peace Jubilee at the Old Courthouse in Manassas. On top of that, the key theme or message of the sesquicentennial is a proposed: “Where the battle began and peace prevails.”
That’s fine, said Chairman Corey Stewart, R-At-large. But less peace and more realism is in order, he said.
“I think we need to work on the message. The Civil War was not about peace. It ended in peace; it had to end in peace,” he said. “If you want to have a Nobel peace prize speaker, that’s okay, I guess. For God’s sake, I hope it’s an American.”
The CVB and sesquicentennial marketing strategists should not “water down” the realities and lessons of the Civil War to the point where it’s forgotten that this was a uniquely American period that ultimately led “to the uniting of the nation so it became the power it is,” Stewart said.
Apparently the chairman objects to all this damn peace floating about and he has done his best to make sure it doesn’t happen. One glance at the chairman’s’ record will give a bird’s eye view of his distain for peace in local government. He has fanned the flames during the immigration debate, he shouted anti abortion rhetoric at a V.O.I.C.E. meeting about housing, insulted vets over joining the Coffee Party, disparaging all the other members in his sweeping generalizations, just to name a few instances where peace in PWC seems unlikely.
The following appears on the December 15 Agenda for the BOCS Meeting: item A is detailed. Item B is currently unavailable.
You may access the agenda at the following CLICK. Choose current agenda.
Sesquicentennial Celebration
A. RES – Transfer, Budget and Appropriate $77,353 from Non-Departmental Transient Occupancy Tax Funds to the Department of Public Works to Fund Expenses for 2010 Events and Programs to Support the 150th Sesquicentennial at County Historic Sites and to Match the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s STEM Educational Grant Request– Thomas Bruun – Public Works Department
B. RES – Consider Proposed Memorandum of Understanding Between Prince William County and Virginia Civil War Events, Inc. – Angela Lemmon Horan – County Attorney
Note:
Item A deals with the Prince William County Committee. It provides for TOT funds to be transferred to Public Works and itemizes what each amount is allocated for.
Item B is the Creston Owen group, Virginia Civil War Events. No mention was made of a presentation. The information appeared to be incomplete.
Interested parties should make every attempt to watch this section of the BOCS meeting.
Tuesday, December 8, Creston Owen, chairman of the newly formed Virginia Civil War Events Inc. presented his organization’s plan to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of First Manassas. His organization, made up of volunteers, has a 9 day plan to draw tourism to the area. His primary goal is to bring people to Manassas and Prince William County and to keep them coming back. The events sound grand. Also speaking to the board were Ed Clark, superintendent of Manassas National Battlefield Park and Brendon Hanafin, the county’s director of historic preservation who both added background information.
Funding will be the county’s primary obstacle. Many popular programs have already shut down or throttled back to bare-bones operations because of fiscal hard times. According to the Washington Examiner:
Still, funding presents an issue, even this early in the process. The cost per year for the county’s support and the events is estimated at $95,000.
All of the county’s financial support would have to come from the transient occupancy tax, said Budget Director David Tyerar. The TOT is a levy on tourist facilities such as hotels, motels and boarding houses that offer rented guest rooms for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Three of every five cents go toward tourism-related items in the county.
Creston Owen made a wonderful presentation to the board. His enthusiasm, knowledge, historical background made me want to write him a check on the spot. I am convinced he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. The county chair warned that money was very scarce.
What if Manassas ponies up and the county does not? What if the county gives hard earned county money to this group? How loud will the hue and cry be from groups that support the Senior Day Care Center or transportation for the seniors to go to the senior citizens centers (different from senior day care)? It seems like the county is between a rock and a hard place.
There’s the teaser. But to what? 2009….hmmmm 2011…150 years since First Manassas. Is there a movie coming out? What plans are in store to mark this page in history? Fishing for information. Our contributors are the post on this thread.
Inquiring minds want to know…
