UR event will host historians on Civil War

A group of historians will explore the state of the country on the eve of the Civil War in a conference April 29 at the University of Richmond.

Sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, the conference will be the first event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the war.

UR President Edward L. Ayers will moderate as Civil War historians discuss events of 1859 that foreshadowed the war that would begin two years later.

The four panel sessions will discuss John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry; the slave-based economy of the South; potential candidates for the 1860 presidential election; and the nation's most exhaustive census to date.

"America on the Eve of the Civil War" is the first of seven annual conferences and two symposia planned by the commission, created by the General Assembly to commemorate Virginia's participation in the war.

The event at the Robins Center is free, but registration will be limited to 2,500 people. To register, go to VirginiaCivilWar.org or call (804) 786-3591.

-- Karin Kapsidelis