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Records of the Virginia Civil War Commission, 1952-1966 (bulk 1958-1965). [Cite specific accession number], State records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Transferred by James J. Geary, former Executive Director of the Virginia Civil War Commission, Harrisonburg, Virginia, 15 January 1965 (Accession 26215); 30 June 1972 (Accession 27781); 26 March 1975, 30 September 1975 (Accession 28767); 27 August 1981, 25 March 1982 (Accession 31363); 15 November 1999 (Accesson 36949); 23 March 2001 (Accession 38047); 24 January 2003 (Accessions 40301 and 40302); 13 May 2022 (Accession 53645).
The Virginia Civil War Centennial Commission was created on March 29, 1958 by an act passed by the General Assembly. The Commission was composed of seventeen members, with eight members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, four members appointed by the President of the Senate, and five members appointed by the Governor. Five of the commission members were named to form an executive committee. The Commission establised an advisory council of interested and knowledgeable people and employed an executive director to lead the Commission. James J. Geary, a former reporter for the Associated Press, was appointed as the executive director of the Virginia Civil War Commission and commenced working in November 1958.
The Civil War Commission was responsible for developing and coordinating along with state and local agencies, a "four-year anniversary" commemorating the centennial of the American Civil War. The Commission also promoted education concerning the Civil War in Virginia, as well as encouraged travel and tourism in the state. The Commission was granted broad powers, with proper consent, to lease or purchase property necessary for the commemoration, to enter into contracts, to adopt an official flag and seal, and to accept donations.
The Commission pursued two outreach programs, one focused on events of statewide signficance and another focused on community "grass roots" activities. The purpose of both programs was to honor Virginia's war heroes and encourage Civil War-related tourism. The first major event planned by the Commission were the opening day ceremonies which took place in Richmond on 23 April 1961, the anniversary of the day Robert E. Lee accepted command of Virginia's armed forces. Throughout its four year existence, the Commission worked with the State Highway Commission to develop a map of historical markers, sponsored statewide assemblies of local centennial committees, held a commemorative ceremony marking Virginia's involvement in the Peace Convention of 1861, assisted with the reenactment of the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), rededicated the statue of Lee at Gettysburg, and promoted the "Circle Tour" of Shenandoah Valley battle sites. The capstone event for the Commission was the observance of Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House on 9 April 1965, an event that drew more than 10,000 spectators. A multitude of other activities and events not listed here were also sponsored, coordinated or supported by the Civil War Commission.
The Commission also devoted time and resources to creating and publishing a variety of books and booklets related to Virginia's involvement in the Civil War. The most well-known of these publications are Virginia, 1861-1865: Iron Gate to the Confederacy , A Guide to Military Operations in Virginia, 1861-1865 , A Register of Military Events in Virginia, 1861-1865 , Monuments to Memories: Virginia's Civil War Heritage in Bronze and Stone , and The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee . The Commission also produced several films about the Civil War, including Manassass to Appomattox , Another Cheer for Dixie , The Character of Lee , and Stonewall Jackson's Way .
A major achievement of the Commission was the construction of the Centennial Center, located on the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) campus in downtown Richmond. In 1960, the General Assembly approved a $1.3 million budget for construction of the Centennial Center and its exhibits. The building was designed by Walter Dorwin Teague to be very modern and much different from most of the architecture in Richmond. The center opened on 1 October 1961 and closed on 30 November 1965. After the centennial period ended, the center's exhibits were moved to the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and ownership of the building reverted to MCV. The center was also referred to as the "Centennial Dome," and was later renamed the Jonah L. Larrick Student Center. MCV closed the building in late 2007 and it was demolished in May 2008. The Civil War Commission ceased to exist after 31 December 1965 and submitted its final report to the Governor in January 1966.
Contains correspondence, subject files, maps, minutes, photographs, publications, scrapbooks, site plans, reference material, films, and audio recordings created and collected by the Virginia Civil War Commission. The material documents the creation of the Commission, its day-to-day administrative operations, and most importantly its efforts to commemorate Virginia's role in the Civil War. Topics include commemorations, state, local and national centennial committees, construction and use of the Centennial Center, exhibits, film production, and publications.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I. Correspondence and Subject Files, 1952-1966 Series II. Scrapbooks, 1959-1965 Series III. Site Plans and Architectural Drawings, 1960 Series IV. The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee, 1959-1961 (photostats and card index, 1832-1870)Contains a variety of material documenting the administrative and operational activities of the Virginia Civil War Commission. This series comprises more than half of the collection. Included are incoming and outgoing correspondence, memorandums, financial records, reference material and publications both internal and external, newsletters, and photographs. The files document the Commission's publicity and advertising campaigns, the construction and operation of the Centennial Center in Richmond, Civil War exhibits, the various publications and films created and distributed by the Commission, and the activities of other state, local and national Civil War centennial committees. Of particular note are the files devoted to the Commission's compilation of Monuments to Memories: Virginia's Civil War Heritage in Bronze and Stone . Included in these files are photographs and histories of Civil War monuments located in Virginia. Restricted: Documents containing personnel information that are less than 75 years old. Some records may require review by an archivist and/or redaction (if it is possible) before they are served.
Arranged alphabetically by heading, and then alphabetically by subject within. Arrangement within individual folders varies.
These four boxes were discovered in 2022. It was unclear where to interfile the papers so a Miscellaneous grouping was created.
Contains three intact scrapbooks and three with the bindings removed. The contents of the unbound scrapbooks are arranged in their original order. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, brochures and other memorabilia associated with the Virginia Civil War Commission, its events and activities. The dates for most of the scrapbooks overlap to some extent.
Arranged chronologically.
Contains two site plans/architectural drawings associated with the construction of the Centennial Center in downtown Richmond.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Contains photostatic copies of letters and papers assembled by Louis Manarin during his research and compilation of The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee . This is a large collection of material gathered together from a variety of different institutions. The Robert E. Lee papers date from well before, during, and after the Civil War. Papers featured in the publication are under the heading of "Transcripts" because the files usually contain transcriptions in addition to the photostatic copies. Letters and papers not selected for inclusion in the book are filed under "Unused Letters and Papers," and do not normally include transcriptions. A card index to all of the papers is available. Each entry in the index contains information about a particular document, including where it was located, whether in private hands or in a research institution. Several files and a scrapbook pertaining to the publication process are also found here. The majority of the papers are letters, mostly from General Robert E. Lee, but a few General and Special Orders and circulars are included as well. Lee's correspondents include, among others, his wife, Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee (often referred to only as "Wife"), his son George Washington Custis Lee (referred to as G.W.C. Lee), his daughters Annie, Agnes, and Mildred, the Honorable James A. Seddon, Confederate Secretary of War (referred to as J.A. Seddon), Stonewall Jackson (referred to as "T.J. Jackson"), Brigadier General John B. Magruder, General Joseph E. Johnston, General J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, General James Longstreet, General Braxton Bragg, General Richard Ewell (referred to as R.S. Ewell), General Samuel Cooper (referred to as S. Cooper), General John C. Breckinridge (referred to as J.C. Breckinridge), General P.G.T. Beauregard, and General Ulysses S. Grant. The names found in the content list were taken directly from the original folder headings. Consistency in name formation is somewhat lacking.
Arranged under four headings: Card Index, Publication Files, Transcripts, and Unused Letters and Papers. The card index is arranged chronologically. The publication files are arranged alphabetically by subject. The letters and papers in the transcript files are individually foldered and arranged by chapter, which is also almost entirely chronological. The unused letters and papers are arranged chronologically as well, but they have not been refoldered or accounted for individually in this finding aid. Researchers should use the card index to reference the unused letters and papers.
Miscellaneous records, 1936-2011, are arranged by record type and contain the miscellaneous files of Richmond historian Robert W. Waitt, Jr., who also served as the Executive Secretary Richmond Civil War Centennial Committee, as well as later records collected by Roberty Kingery. These research materials include articles, brochures, clippings, and publications.
Arranged alphabetically by record type and alphabetically within each type.