The Civil War Centennial Handbook Part 7

CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL PROCLAMATION No. 3882

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

The years 1961-1965 will mark the one hundredth anniversary of the American Civil War.

That war was America's most tragic experience. But like all truly great tragedies, it carries with it an enduring lesson and a profound inspiration. It was a demonstration of heroism and sacrifice by men and women of both sides, who valued principle above life itself and whose devotion to duty is a proud part of our national inheritance.

Both sections of our magnificently reunited country sent into their armies men who became soldiers as good as any who ever fought under any flag. Military history records nothing finer than the courage and spirit displayed at such battles as Chickamauga, Antietam, Kenesaw Mountain and Gettysburg. That America could produce men so valiant and so enduring is a matter for deep and abiding pride.

The same spirit on the part of the people back home supported those soldiers through four years of great trial. That a Nation which contained hardly more than 30 million people, North and South together, could sustain 600,000 deaths without faltering is a lasting testimonial to something unconquerable in the American spirit. And that a transcending sense of unity and larger common purpose could, in the end, cause the men and women who had suffered so greatly to close ranks once the contest ended and to go on together to build a greater, freer and happier America must be a source of inspiration as long as our country may last.

By a joint resolution approved on September 7, 1957, the Congress established the Civil War Centennial Commission to coordinate the nationwide observances of the one hundredth anniversary of the Civil War. This resolution authorized and requested the President to issue proclamations inviting the people of the United States to partic.i.p.ate in those observances.

NOW THEREFORE, I, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, President of the United States of America, do hereby invite all of the people of our country to take a direct and active part in the Centennial of the Civil War.

I request all units and agencies of government, Federal, State and local, and their officials, to encourage, foster and partic.i.p.ate in Centennial observances. And I especially urge our Nation's schools and colleges, its libraries and museums, its churches and religious bodies, its civic, service and patriotic organizations, its learned and professional societies, its arts, sciences and industries, and its informational media, to plan and carry out their own appropriate Centennial observances during the years 1961 to 1965; all to the end of enriching our knowledge and appreciation of this great chapter in our Nation's history and of making this memorable period truly a Centennial for all Americans.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 6th day of December in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-fourth.

By the President:

Dwight D. Eisenhower

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William H. Price is a pursuer of the lesser-known, but important, facts about the Civil War; an interest that is reflected throughout this unique handbook. Living in Northern Virginia, he has been over many square miles of the battlefields on foot and, often with a surveyor's transit, has plotted key sites and troop positions left obscure in the records of the armies. He specializes in the smaller, yet significant battles fought in Virginia--First Mana.s.sas, Cedar Mountain, Brandy Station--and in the operations of the signals services and topographical engineers. Modern data-processing techniques were applied to the Civil War for the first time when he devised a new method of cataloguing the war's battles, skirmishes, and engagements; this compilation, prepared by International Business Machines Corporation, is being used by the National and State Commissions in planning the numerous Civil War Centennial events.

Virgil Carrington Jones, biographer of Ranger Mosby and author of "The Civil War at Sea", has best and most accurately described Mr. Price as "a walking encyclopedia of Civil War lore".

A native of North Carolina, he has served on the staff of the American Military Inst.i.tute and is a member of the Civil War Centennial Commission of the District of Columbia.