I know you have had posts regarding the sesquicentennial and planning (or lack thereof) previous to this. I have been reluctant to comment as I am not directly involved in planning activities, but I was aware of some of what is happening here in Missouri. When I read Larry’s comment I asked Pam Sanfilippo, Site Historian here at U. S. Grant National Historic Site, if she would write a response, since she was asked to spearhead planning for the Midwest Region of NPS. She has already spent countless hours working on this. Here is her response:

St. Louis area historic sites, museums, parks, universities, cemeteries, reenactment groups, chapters of the UDC, DUV, SCV, and other Civil War related organizations are in the midst of planning commemorative activities. Currently, themes have been developed and plans are underway for signature events and related activities.

In 2011, the theme will be Prelude to War, and will include an encampment, with presentations on Camp Jackson, Dred and Harriet Scott, Elijah Lovejoy, and Mary Meachum.
The Soldier’s Experience will be the focus in 2012, with training of troops at Jefferson Barracks, and a symposium on “Black and Red” troops recruited in the West. Guerrilla Warfare, the Carondelet Shipyards, medicine and nursing will also be highlighted.
The theme for 2013 will be the Politics of War, led by a symposium organized by Dr. Louis Gerteis, a noted Civil War and St. Louis historian. Subjects might include martial law, the oath of allegiance, guerrilla warfare, Civil War outlaws, prisons and spies.
The Homefront is the theme for 2014, with a signature event being a reenactment of the 1864 Sanitary Fair held in St. Louis, with funds raised in part for today’s military. Other topics include women’s life, religious life, and numerous house tours.
For 2015, it’s Reunion and Legacy, to include cemetery tours, Memorial Day events, Missouri’s new Constitution in 1865, and then addressing the Civil Rights Movement as a legacy of the unfinished work of Reconstruction.
Details are still being worked out, with commitees assigned to each year’s activities. In addition, U. S. Grant NHS is spearheading NPS efforts for the sesquicentennial in the Midwest, with partners in 19 states. The theme is Civil War to Civil Rights, and will address the nation’s history from the antebellum period through the modern Civil Rights Movement. This area is the ideal place to discuss these issues from the Missouri Compromise through the Civil War, and Brown v. Board of Education and Central High School in Little Rock, AR. You can contact Pam Sanfilippo at Pam_Sanfilippo@nps.gov for additional information or to volunteer.