Letter from the CEO

Dear Friends

Welcome to another edition of the magazine of the American Civil War Museum. We have started off the New Year as we mean to go on: busy and engaged in telling the stories of the American Civil War.

On Saturday, 19 February, we were delighted to welcome 73 in-person and 30 online participants to our 2022 Symposium titled The Soldier’s Civil War. This was held, for the first time ever, at our Tredegar site in Richmond. We have ambitions to build on this great tradition and potentially expand to more than one day with new and innovative features that help showcase our facilities and capabilities. In that vein, we began this year by offering behind-the-scenes collections tours and a wonderful reception in the lobby of the main museum. More details of what proved to be a tremendous event can be found on page 7, and thank you again to our sponsors Americana Corner and to our partners the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War Studies at the University of Virginia.

Looking ahead to June we will open the Robins Theatre and begin showing the original film A People’s Contest: America’s Civil War and Emancipation. This new theatre is the capstone of our permanent exhibition with technology that will immerse visitors in an experience that brings the origins of the War to life and documents its course and consequences with impactful sights and sounds. We look forward to a celebratory Gala in June and formally cutting the ribbon on what promises to be an enormous draw to our Tredegar site. It will be an absolute must-see addition to our Tredegar facility. Rob Havers

In addition to these activities, over the course of the last six months the ACWM has been busy behind the scenes working on a comprehensive strategic plan to chart the next five years of this great institution and deliver on our ambition to be actively known nationally and internationally. More details of that plan and how it will roll up into our fundraising efforts is discussed by Don King, Chair of our Foundation Board on the next page.

We are also delighted to announce the formation of our Historian Advisory Council which brings together some of the best and the brightest historians active in the field of the Civil War. More details of this new endeavor is found on page 26. We are very excited by what this will mean for our offerings in the future. In addition to these endeavors, we continue, daily, to deliver on our mission and welcome visitors to all three of our sites as well as to conserve and preserve the vital artifacts of the American Civil War. Please enjoy this latest edition of our magazine and come and see us soon, on line, or in person.

Rob Havers, President & CEO