CW 150 Legacy Project visits Staunton

The Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission and the Library of Virginia have partnered to create a state-wide online collection of original Civil War manuscripts that still remain in private hands.

The Civil War 150 Legacy Project: Document Digitization and Access focuses on manuscript materials created during the period 1859-1867 that reflect social, political, military, business and religious life in Virginia during the period of the Civil War and the early period of Reconstruction. Citizens are encouraged to bring original family materials to be scanned and included in the Project. Scanned materials will be made available on the web via the Library of Virginia web site and the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission web site.

CW 150 Legacy Project staff will be visiting the Staunton Public Library on Friday, Aug. 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be held in the second floor meeting room. Appointments are encouraged and a limited number of walk-ins will be accommodated, as scheduling allows. Members of the Augusta County Historical Society will be on hand to help explain how to use archival materials to properly preserve family manuscripts and photographs.

The CW 150 Legacy Project is a multi-year initiative to locate, digitize and provide world-wide access to the private documentary heritage of the American Civil War era located throughout Virginia. Utilizing Local Sesquicentennial Committees already established by the Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission and through a partnership with the Library of Virginia and a network of statewide connections, the CW 150 Legacy Project will provide individuals an opportunity to have their historic letters, diaries and other collections scanned to preserve their valuable intellectual content.

The Library of Virginia (www.lva.virginia.gov), located in historic Downtown Richmond, holds the world’s most extensive collection of material about the Old Dominion and has been a steward of the commonwealth’s documentary and printed heritage since 1823. The story of Virginia and Virginians has been told in many ways since 1607. At the Library of Virginia it is told through nearly 113 million manuscripts and more than 1.9 million books, serials, bound periodicals, microfilm reels, newspapers and state and federal documents, each an individual tile in the vast and colorful mosaic of Virginia’s experience.