Bugle Call

Generation Illumination: Lighting the Way for Millennial Engagement

May 11, 2015

150th Anniversary Frederick County 1865 Living History

In April 1865 many cities, including Frederick, hosted celebratory illuminations following the surrender at Appomattox. On April 10, one hundred and fifty years later, HCWHA recalled the Grand Illumination, commemorated the end of the Civil War, and memorialized President Lincoln and all the lives lost in the war with an event at City Hall called "Illuminating Frederick:  from Celebration to Grief." It was, indeed, an illuminating program and one that propels the heritage area into the future with great promise, born partly from the evidence of young people engaging energetically with our Civil War heritage. 

Were you there? If so, you will recall the standing-room-only, intergenerational audience that turned out for a spellbinding talk by author James Swanson. The group grew larger and more diverse as the event moved from inside City Hall to the adjacent square, where hundreds of memorial candles and torches glowed in the darkness under Frederick's spotlighted clustered spires. If you weren't able to join us, a video of the evening's events is archived online thanks to the City of Frederick.

At a moment when some voices have questioned whether Civil War heritage is relevant beyond the 150^th anniversary, our capstone to the sesquicentennial commemorations suggests heightened interest by members of the millennial generation who participated as volunteers, staff and visitors. 

Here are some of the twentysomethings who were crucial to the Illumination:

• Kyle Wichtendahl and Jake Wynn from the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, who conceived the idea and were willing to merge their concept for an illumination with efforts already underway to invite James Swanson to speak in Frederick as part of an end-of-the-war commemoration. Jake is a former HCWHA intern who will graduate from Hood College in May. Check out Jake's blog here.

• Volunteers such as Brady Thews, a living history interpreter from the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, and Joshua Hughes, who volunteered through the Historical Society of Frederick County. Josh is a Shepherd University undergraduate who is active on social media and turned out to help set up luminaries and clean up after the program.

• Most importantly, our visitors. Scanning the crowd that evening, it was clear that significant numbers of Gen Y and Gen X–some with their own young children–were drawn to gather alongside baby boomers and older generations for our memorial program.

What was the most hopeful millennial moment that evening? Surprisingly, it was an incident that could be interpreted as a failure. As the living history walking tours were underway and the crowd had dispersed, a few staff and volunteers were extinguishing luminaries and cleaning up in front of City Hall. Running in our direction came three twentysomethings. The encounter went something like this:

Visitors: "Where's the Illumination? We didn’t miss it, did we?"

Staff: "Sorry, it’s over and we are cleaning up now."

"Oh no! We were having so much fun over dinner we lost track of time."

"Here are some candles, since you are here, why don’t you take a moment for your own memorial illumination?" (the three agreed and did so)

"How did you hear about the Illumination?"

"We were looking for something to do this weekend and found out about it through a Google search."

"Where did you come from?"

"We live near the airport [BWI] and thought this would be a great thing to do on a Friday night."

Since the night was young, the three young people headed back to enjoy more nightlife in downtown Frederick, laden with candles and slightly used tiki torches as souvenirs.

Indeed, it was an evening of illumination. Just as the Frederick residents of 1865 experienced that April, we moved from celebration to grief, and then emerged with hope for a future where young people will reflect on the past as they light the way to a new tomorrow—and have great fun along the way.

Is there nightlife in the Heart of the Civil War? You bet! Nine of Maryland’s 28 Main Street communities and two of the state's 22 Arts and Entertainment Districts are in our heritage area. A great dining experience always awaits visitors, and there’s never a dull moment.

"Illuminating Frederick: from Celebration to Grief" was presented by the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area with the City of Frederick, the Historical Society of Frederick County and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Partial funding was provided by the Community Foundation of Frederick County.

Want to know what's going on in the heritage area? Check out the calendar of events and subscribe to Drum Beat, our monthly e-calendar.

Photos, from top: Brady Thews; Kyle Wichtendahl; Jake Wynn; Kristen and Chris Butler; visitors enjoying the illumination.

Contributing Author: Elizabeth Shatto

Elizabeth (Liz) Scott Shatto is the Executive Director of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, Inc., a role held since 2005 through various iterations of the organization. She has worked on behalf of history and art museums, historic sites and heritage tourism for many years, in her... Read More