Sesquicentennial Thoughts

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the first shots of the Civil War. The week has been chock full of events to mark the occasion, from artillery displays, encampments, and cannons firing. Things will likely settle down around here for the next couple of years, just as they did 150 years ago. The first two years of the war were rather quiet in the Holy City (even though a very important battle took place just across the river on James Island in June 1862). But things began to heat up intensely (both figuratively and literally) around here the next summer (1863) when the city came under siege - and remained so for over 18 months. So just because things are quiet now, don't assume the commemorative events have come to an end. This is just the beginning.