A PROCLAMATION IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE SACRIFICES AND HONOR OF ALL VIRGINIANS WHO SERVED IN THE CIVIL WAR
WHEREAS, the Civil War was a defining event in American history and our Republic's greatest internal crisis, the outcome of which transformed our country from a confederation of states to a unified Nation based upon the principle of e pluribus unum; and
WHEREAS, Virginia soil served as the dominant theater for military campaigns throughout the War, from the establishment of Richmond as the Capital of the Confederacy in April of 1861, to the battles at Manassass, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Fort Monroe, the Siege of Petersburg, the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse, and finally the fall of the Last Capital of the Confederacy in Danville in April of 1865; and
WHEREAS, the Civil War was a fratricidal conflict that divided families, relatives and friends, where brother fought against brother, and where over 3,500,000 Americans, including over 400,000 African-Americans, both free men and slaves, fought or participated in a war which saw over 600,000 of their fellow countrymen, including over 40,000 African-American soldiers, killed; and
WHEREAS, Virginians, both Confederate and Union, distinguished themselves in their service, fought with bravery against overwhelming odds, and sacrificed their lives in defense of their deeply held beliefs; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting to recognize the historical contributions of great Virginians who served the Confederacy with honor, such as General Robert E. Lee of Westmoreland County, who sacrificed all of his family's material belongings to stand with his native Virginia in secession and who led the proud and mighty Army of Northern Virginia through many arduous battles from Richmond to Gettysburg, and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson of Clarksburg, who died with the respect of his soldiers and his State in defense of his convictions, as well as thousands of other Virginians, military and civilian, who fought and sacrificed for the Confederacy; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting to recognize the historical contributions of great Virginians who served the Union with honor, such as Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers, a son of Norfolk who fled slavery to become the first African-American soldier to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor at the siege of Fort Wagner where he was struck by three bullets, and General William R. Terrill of Covington, who commanded his troops through one of the War's bloodiest battles at Shiloh, brother of Confederate General James Terrill, both of whom died in battle, as well as thousands of other Virginians, military and civilian, who fought and sacrificed for the Union; and
WHEREAS, our generation's recognition of this historical era necessarily acknowledges that the practice of slavery was an affront to man's natural dignity, deprived African-Americans of their God-given inalienable rights, degraded the human spirit and is abhorred and condemned by Virginians, and likewise that had there been no slavery there would have been no war; and
WHEREAS, the four years of Civil War was suffered by both North and South to protect what each side believed to be threatened rights and imperiled liberty as bequeathed to them by our founding fathers - the one for liberty in the union of the States, the other for liberty in the independence of the States; and
WHEREAS, the meeting between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant on that Spring day April 9, 1865 in Appomattox, Virginia, set the Nation on its course toward reconciliation and rededicated Americans to the proposition that all men are created equal and that only a nation so dedicated can long endure; and
WHEREAS, the numerous battlefields, monuments, museums and other historical sites to be found in Virginia allow our citizens, and indeed people from all over the world, to remember, study and appreciate the men and women of that unique time in the history of our Commonwealth and Nation; and
WHEREAS, we honor our past and from it draw the courage, strength and wisdom to reconcile ourselves, and go forward into the future together as Virginians and Americans; and
WHEREAS, remembrance of the profound sacrifices and honorable service of the men and women of Virginia who served both Confederacy and Union shall unite Virginians of all regions, races, and creeds forever more;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, James S. Gilmore, III, Governor of Virginia, do hereby recognize April 2001 as the Commonwealth of Virginia's Month for Remembrance of the Sacrifices and Honor of All Virginians Who Served in the Civil War, and I call upon our citizens to appreciate the sacrifices of all Virginians, regardless of what side they served, in the great conflict that changed our country forever and laid the foundation for the great Nation we are today.
James S. Gilmore
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