Kansas’ role in the beginning of the Civil War, often overlooked by mainstream historical accounts, is featured prominently in a national Web site on the war launched this week.

The National Parks Service’s Web site commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, cwar.nps.gov/civilwar, includes a paragraph about Kansas history and links to several historical sites in the state.

“In the past, the Civil War histories have been written mostly from an East Coast perspective,” said Katie Armitage, a local historian. “More and more the 1850s and the lead-up to the war has become very critical. I’m delighted the National Parks Service is beginning to recognize this.”

The home page of the Civil War site includes this paragraph: “In some respects, the sesquicentennial of the Civil War has already begun. The state of Kansas, for example, is commemorating the events which began with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and ended only with the establishment of the state in 1861. This period has been known as Bleeding Kansas.”

The home page also includes links to seven sites tied to Bleeding Kansas, including Constitution Hall in Lecompton.

The site’s contents won’t always be so focused on Kansas. They’re expected to rotate to feature other events as time goes on.

The words of a Union soldier, etched on the museum windows at the Mine Creek Battlefield State Historical Site near Pleasanton, bring to life images of one of the largest cavalry engagements of the Civil War. Dann Hayes, a writer with Kansas University Relations and a history enthusiast, demonstrates the operation of an Enfield rifle used by the Confederate troops.

In another section of the Web site, the second event listed in the lead-up to the war is Aug. 1, 1854 – when the first settlers arrive to settle Lawrence.

The November 1855 sacking of Lawrence, the December 1855 killing of Free State advocate Thomas W. Barber near Lawrence and the arrival of John Brown in Kansas, also in December 1855, also were listed as key events leading to the war’s beginning.

“From first glance, it looks like they have appropriately emphasized Kansas’ role,” said Virgil Dean, editor of “Kansas History” magazine. “A lot of people think the Civil War began with the opening shots and the declaration of war. They don’t pay attention to what the course was up to that point.”

He said he hoped the mention boosted Civil War tourism in the state.

“Whenever you get these kinds of mentions, it’s important,” he said. “Anything the National Parks Service puts up like this gets quite a number of hits. I was glad to see Kansas prominently displayed.”

Armitage, the local historian, said she thought Kansas might get even more attention in the upcoming years, as the sesquicentennial years of the Civil War – 2011-2015 – approach.

Photo Gallery: Civil War Kansas

American Civil War

Honoring the Free State veterans

Bleeding Kansas history gaining prominence

On the street: Do you think Kansas’ role in the Civil War is overlooked?

“I think because the actual shooting of the war between Confederate and federal armies happened there in Fort Sumter, that’s where people oftentimes pick up the story,” Armitage said. “If they go back, they see how this came to that on April 12, 1861. They see what the build-up was and then the attention goes back to Bleeding Kansas and the extension of slavery.”