It is called a brothers' war, and nowhere was that more true than in North Carolina.

The American Civil War claimed more lives than any military engagement undertaken by this country. North Carolina lost at least 35,000 soldiers, more than any other Southern state, and great hardships were suffered by those both at war and left at home.

In observance of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War (1861-1865), the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources has organized the "Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory: Civil War Sesquicentennial Photography Exhibit" to travel the state from April 1 through spring 2013 as part of its commemoration.

The exhibit will be in this area May 1-29.

Visitors will see well-known Confederate generals, women who served as Confederate spies, re-enactment images of soldiers and battles, and more. The battlefield, homefront, African-Americans and women all are reflected in the exhibit. A notebook accompanying the exhibit will offer sketches of the generals, of African-Americans fleeing bondage, a woman whose home became a hospital, and other glimpses of lives from that turbulent time.

The tour will visit 49 public libraries and was organized through the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

"Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory" also will tour at the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras and the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

Images were gathered from divisions within Cultural Resources, including four document images and 10 pictures from the State Archives, five images from the N.C. Museum of History and five images from Civil War-related State Historic Sites.

For information on the tour visit www.nccivilwar150.com or call (919) 807-7389.

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state's cultural resources to build North Carolina's social, cultural and economic future. Visit www.ncculture.com for more information.