This afternoon I experienced one of the proudest and most promising interviews of my entire career. The meeting took place at the Civil War Soldier’s Life Museum here in Fredericksburg and was in reference to a budding project called the ‘National Civil War Life Museum and Research Center,’ which is slated to be constructed as a three-story, period-appropriate brick building near the Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield.

The goal of this enterprise is to create a highly original and interactive exhibit hall that intentionally presents a broad perspective of Civil War history, mainly from the common soldiers’ and civilians’ point of view. The focus of the museum’s presentation will encompass whites, blacks, men, women, children, military, civilian, secessionist, unionist, confederate, federal, free and slave. ‘Life’ is the key word for this museum’s vision and its mission statement encompasses so much more than just the war. In fact, the military aspect of the struggle is just a small portion of a much bigger picture.

Of course there will be exhibits on the four local battles, but the majority of the proposed media and collection will specifically showcase the differing experiences off the field, politically, socially, racially and religiously. Unlike other facilities such as the MOC, there is absolutely no nitch or agenda, nor any specific target-demographic. That is the entire point. In addition to the museum’s three floor exhibit hall, there will be a computer-based research center and library.

The goal is to get visitors interested enough in the War Between the States, or perhaps an ancestor that fought in it, to examine their own heritage utilizing database technology and the Internet. This database however will not only provide information on soldiers. Rare information (as available) on the slave population will make this cyber-center both well-rounded and appealing. Young people are also a major concern in this venture and through the use of special school programs and tours, we hope to introduce our youth to their community’s legacy. This is especially important as we are losing an entire generation of 'future' historians to the iPod.

It is a hefty goal to say the least, but the people involved with this project are all more than qualified to pull it off. My interview was with Mr. Terry Thomann, owner/curator of the Civil War Soldier’s Life Museum, and Ret. Col. Horace McKaskill, the vice chair of the museum’s foundation and a very active NAACP member here in Fredericksburg. We spoke for 40 minutes on a variety of topics and all of the memory critics would be ecstatic with this group’s vision.

Diversity isn’t just a catch phrase either, the foundation’s board and advisor teams are intentionally made up of a wide-range of contributors that are young and older, male and female, white and black, military and civilian, local and transplant. This ensures a wide-angle view for all aspects of the project and guarantees a broad perspective from the top down. I am very proud to say that I have been asked to join both the board and advisor team and will be providing a wide-variety of skills from media promotions, press release writing and material/website design, to advisement on the museum’s religion and recreation sections.

Needless to say this is quite a blessing for me and I am still smiling from ear to ear. I will be formally announced and introduced at the next foundation meeting and I will keep you in the loop as this exciting venture progresses. This is the type of project that one could hang their entire professional legacy on and I am both honored and privileged to be asked to take part in it. I promise to use the wisdom that I have learned from my NPS friends and so many of you as I strive to help make the dream of a truly diversified Civil War museum here in Spotsylvania a reality.

(On a side-note I am finalizing the Battle of Waynesboro booklet for the Waynesboro Heritage Museum this week and will post the PDF as soon as I get an approval from Richard Williams and the good folks at their foundation.)