Wirral could attract American Civil War tourists for 150th anniversary

Oct 21 2009 Birkenhead News

WIRRAL is being urged to market itself a major destination for tourists marking the approaching 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.

US education chiefs were in the borough last week to look at how sights of historical interest – including Cammell Laird – could be incorporated into special tours when the anniversary is marked from 2011-15.

Councillor Jerry Williams estimates there are at least 16 separate sites in Wirral with connections to the war.

The infamous CSS Alabama warship was built at Lairds in 1862, while the Argyle Rooms in Birkenhead were an important meeting place for the anti-slavery lobby during the conflict.

The last formal surrender of the American Civil War took place aboard the CSS Shenandoah off the coast of Tranmere, more than six months after the end of the war in 1865.

Wirral’s waterfront is only the second place outside the USA to be accorded American Civil War Heritage Site status by the Civil War Preservation Trust.

During his visit to the borough Len Riedel, executive director of the Blue & Gray Education Society met with tourism officers from Wirral Council to discuss how Wirral can utilise its Civil War heritage.