(a) The Legislature finds that the role of West Virginia, its creation as a state and the roles of individual West Virginians in the American Civil War, from the time of John Brown's Raid through the formation of the State of West Virginia and the conclusion of the American Civil War, are of such historical significance as to warrant their commemoration.
(b) There is hereby created the West Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.
(c) The purpose of the commission is to prepare for and commemorate the sesquicentennial of West Virginia's participation in the American Civil War.