To kick off the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park plans a symposium Saturday morning on the secession crisis in 1860 that led the nation to war in 1861.
“The secessions crisis of 1860 was the lighting of the powder keg, so to speak,” said Lee White, a ranger at the park.
IF YOU GOThe Face of Battle: The Secession Crisis will begin at 8:45 a.m. Saturday at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center Theater. Call 706-866-9241 by this afternoon to make a reservation.* At 9 a.m., Dr. Daryl Black will speak on “Christian Newspapers and their Coverage of the Secession Crisis.”* At 9:45 a.m., Patrick Lewis, speaks about “High Private: How Sam Watkins’ Sideshow Obscured the Big Show of American History.”* At 10:30 a.m., Dr. Keith Bohannon’s topic will be “Secessionists, Cooperationists, and Unionists: North Georgians Debate the Creation of a Southern Republic, 1860-1861.”* At 11:15 a.m., Sam Davis Elliott will tell about “Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris and the Coming of the Civil War.”* At noon, there will be question and answers with the speakers.
Mr. White said all of the nation’s military parks are planning sesquicentennial events for the Civil War years — 1861 to 1865.
“But it’s been our view that the war didn’t just suddenly happen in 1861,” he said.