A new historical marker unveiled Wednesday marks the event that led Georgia into the Civil War.

The sign in Milledgeville will tell the story of Georgia’s decision to secede from the Union.

Georgia lawmakers debated secession over three days inside the then-state capital building. Finally, on January 19th, 1861 a majority voted to leave the United States.

The marker at the north gate of Georgia Military College, where the old capitol building still stands as a museum, will explain the vote and that not all lawmakers supported secession.

Telling the lesser-known stories of the Civil War is the goal of year-long historical marker campaign, says the Georgia Historical Society’s Todd Groce.

“We realized there were a lot of holes in the story that needed to be filled, that the war more than a military conflict, that there was a conflict that went on at home as well and it drew everybody into the war not just soldiers.”

Groce says another aspect of the educational campaign is a new feature on the Georgia Historical Society's website where people can create a personalized vacation visiting Georgia’s Civil War sites.

“It’s trying to create a full package for people so that when they go out they can experience all of Georgia, they’ll know where they want to go eat, where they want to spend the night, what sites they want to see. And using historical markers to do that and this is really one of a kind.”

Groce’s organization, along with the Department of Economic Development and Georgia Battlefields Association, are sponsoring 10 new signs in addition to 1,000 existing markers.

Tags: Civil War, Georgia Historical Society, secession, Department of Economic Development, Georgia Battlefields Association, Todd Groce