The Tennessee’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission announced that the 2013 Signature Event “Occupation and Liberation” will take place Oct. 9-12 at the Chattanooga Convention Center and surrounding historic sites. The Signature Event will feature educational symposiums, book signings, special tours and entertainment all commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga.
The event will begin Oct. 9 with the Looking Back project hosted by Tennessee State Library and Archives followed on Oct.
10 by a teacher’s workshop “Teaching Occupation and Liberation” hosted by Middle Tennessee State University’s Center for Historic Preservation. Amy Murrell Taylor, PhD, associate professor of History, University of Kentucky will provide the keynote address, 7-8:30 p.m., Oct. 10.
The Official Opening Ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. EDT, Oct. 11 and will include special guests and musical performances. The ceremony will be followed by a forum with America’s foremost historians on the Battles for Chattanooga, living history demonstrations and a Sesquicentennial Civil War exhibit offering rare and unique artifacts from the Battles for Chattanooga.
Symposium sessions continue Saturday, Oct. 12. Topics include “Military Strategy in the Civil War” and “Civil War Commemoration and Memorialization.”
Officials said, "Tennessee’s Civil War history is rich and complex with the staggering effects of total war felt in every part of the state."
The Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission is the sponsor of a series of signature events, which began in 2010 and continue through 2015 at locations across the state.
Co-chairs of the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, Commissioner Susan Whitaker, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and Dr. Carroll Van West, director of MTSU Center for Historic Preservation and Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, will host the event. Governor Bill Haslam has been invited to participate.
The 2013 Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event is jointly sponsored by the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Tennessee Historical Society, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, The Friends of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, and the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau.
All Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission sponsored events are free and open to the public.