Gettysburg Daily is back in action

Gettysburg Daily, a website that posts photos on a variety of topics regarding the battlefield, returned last week with little fanfare after a four-year hiatus. “Missed us? We missed you too,” read a July 19 Facebook posting.

The independent site’s aim is to provide photos or videos and researched captions each day. Licensed Battlefield Guide and history teacher Bobby Housch, with the assistance of two sons, launched Gettysburg Daily in February 2008 and it covered the spectrum until May 2012, when the family announced it had other priorities to which it needed to attend.

(The Picket, which interviewed Housch in December 2009 attempted last week to contact him. We’ll update the blog if we hear back).

The site’s creators take several photographs of subject and include the approximate time at which the image was taken. It has a huge inventory of topics and Housch has provided his point of view on many battlefield initiatives.

Since July 17, when the site was reborn, subjects have included what’s being done with the old Cyclorama parking lot, restoration of the Thompson House and the National Park Service’s reconstruction of the Hancock Avenue Gate.

On the latter, Gettysburg Daily writes the gate has no interpretive and little commemorative value. It also questions why the NPS wants to minimize the addition of new monuments, which the website considers to be educational.

Social media fans have applauded the return of Gettysburg Daily. “Wonderful having you back,” wrote one on Facebook. “You help provide my Gettysburg therapy.”

Illinois launches website Thursday

According to the Evansville Courier & Press, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency will launch a website that includes a comprehensive 150th events calendar. Agency director Jan Grimes says she hopes the website will become an official guide for "all that's going on in Illinois." • Website

Peach State launches 150th website

Georgia, a linchpin for a Union victory in the Civil War, Thursday rolled out Phase One of its long-anticipated website marketing the 150th anniversary of the conflict.

The state, which is sponsoring no events during the sesquicentennial, sees the modest site as a tourism portal and primer on the war.

It's posted an interactive map of sites, with popup descriptions and photos. I also like the interactive timeline of Georgia and the war. The second phase of the site will include driving trails; stories and written observations from Georgians during the Civil War; and a multimedia section for video and images.

Upcoming in Picket: Authentic Campaigner

I hope to be posting soon a Q&A from my recent interview with the founder of the Authentic Campaigner website, a popular place to learn about events, buy, sell and trade items and discuss issues.

Georgia unveils Civil War 150th anniversary logo, website for tourism, marketing

The Georgia Department of Economic Development has unveiled its logo and website design for the state's observance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Details on the state's tourism plans for the event were presented recently at the Georgia Governor's Tourism Conference in Athens.

The logo looks like a soldier's belt buckle and has a large "GA" in the center, reminiscent of a "CSA" or "US" during the war.

The state also is updating the book "Crossroads of Conflict: A Guide to Civil War Sites in Georgia", is printing and circulating a Civil War driving map (below) and will unveil a special website in late October, according to the department. The push is for 2011-2015.

The website "will be an inviting and engaging interactive experience that drives tourism by allowing consumers to feel, experience and engage in Georgia’s history. Features include an interactive map, historical timeline, heritage war trails, ecommerce, and social media." the state says.

The site is not yet complete, said Stefanie Paupeck of the department's communications office.

"The Sesquicentennial of the Civil War is the most significant heritage tourism event impacting Georgia in coming years. The state has the opportunity of educating residents and tourists alike to the role Georgia played in this critical moment in U.S. history," according to a statement.

More than a dozen states have had sesquicentennial websites up for several months. Observers have said the anniversary has not been a funding priority of the Perdue administration.

The website is a portal for local governments and businesses to tout their plans.

"As of now, we are not sponsoring a major sesquicentennial event. We are promoting all the activities and events that our tourism partners around the state are hosting," Paupeck said. "Over the next four years the Sesquicentennial will be a huge part of the tourism division’s marketing efforts including features in our newsletters, quarterly contests, travel guide feature in the 2011 issue and so on."

According to the state, the CW150 website will reach beyond just Civil War buffs to “to tell the story in a compelling way to a much broader audience.”

It will also direct travelers to points of interest and events.

"Crossroads" serves the "dual purpose as tour guide and as an in-depth history of Civil War Georgia. Included are over 200 modern and period photographs, images, maps, GPS coordinates, and a detailed chronology of events as they unfolded during the four-year conflict," the state says.