News---The Confederacy, Union, Freedom Museum AKA American Civil War Museum In Richmond, Virginia

Name Chosen For Combined Civil War Museum, Catherine Calos, Richmond Times Dispatch, January 15, 2014

The American Civil War Museum has been chosen as the name for the newly combined museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center. The simple name rose to the top in testing of both traditional and nontraditional names for the new entity, said Waite Rawls, co-CEO of the new museum. “The very strong consensus from all over, from heritage groups who knew us really well to people who barely ever heard of us, was, ‘Don’t mess around. Tell us what it is’,” Rawls said.

“If it’s a museum, tell us it’s a museum. Don’t use a word that might make people stop and think, or a word that might be out of vogue 10 years from now.” Along with the new name, the new institution will use a tagline: “Confederacy, Union, Freedom.”

“The word Confederacy gives a nod to the traditions and legacy of The Museum of the Confederacy,” Rawls said. In combination with the words Union and Freedom, the tagline encompasses “the issues contested and resolved in the Civil War,” he added. “Were we going to have an independent nation or a united nation, and were we going to have freedom or not?”

The title was presented to the museum’s executive committee on Dec. 19 and was adopted by the full board Jan. 3. The American Civil War Museum will be headquartered on the historic site of the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, where its leaders plan to construct a new museum building to combine the best aspects of The Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center.

The goal of The American Civil War Museum is to help a diverse national and international audience learn American Civil War history in all its breadth and scope, according to the announcement of the new name. Using dynamic and interactive exhibits, engaging educational programs and historical research, the museum will tell a multitude of military, political and civilian stories of the people of the time. It will also ensure and strengthen the preservation of an unparalleled collection of Civil War artifacts.

From late October through December, museum leaders conducted market research to gather public input on the new institution and its name. This research included telephone and focus group interviews, and email surveys. Participants in the market study ranged from people representing heritage groups and Civil War roundtables, to museum supporters and members of the general public.

Photo Caption:  Christy Coleman (left) of the American Civil War Center and Waite Rawls of the Museum of the Confederacy, near the museum buildings at Tredegar on Nov. 15, 2013 when The American Civil War Center and the Museum of the Confederacy announced that they will increase their collaboration.

Text Source: Richmond Times Dispatch, January 15, 2014