The National Civil War Museum, located at One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a permanent, nonprofit educational institution created to promote the preservation of material culture and sources of information that are directly relevant to the American Civil War of 1861â€"1865, and the aftermath period of the war as related to Civil War Veterans' service organizations, including the Grand Army of the Republic, United Confederate Veterans and the Daughters of the Confederacy to 1920. The museum also serves as the National Headquarters for the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). In 2009, the museum became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
History
The National Civil War Museum - The National Civil War Museum Harrisburg Pennsylvania.
Former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed, a Civil War enthusiast, was behind the museum's development, which cost 32 million dollars. It is now privately owned, and has an association with the Smithsonian Institution. Recently, the Museum published a book about the Union General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, one of many planned books the museum hopes to publish.
Location
The museum is located in a two-story brick building in Harrisburg's Reservoir Park. The exhibits and self-guided tour begin on the second floor of the museum (first ten galleries) and continue on the first floor (last seven galleries and theater). A gift shop, temporary exhibit gallery, and museum support are on the first floor. A "Walk of Valor," consisting of red bricks bearing the names of Civil War veterans who have been honored by their surviving descendants, contributes to the museum's memorial-like grounds. It also shows pictures of the current president that was congratulating some of the honored veterans at a ceremony. The museum also serves as National Headquarters of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. As far as price goes, to enter the Museum, Adults (18+) is $12,Seniors (60+)is $11, Students (6+)is $10, and a Family Pass is $44
Exhibits
The museum's exhibits are designed to tell "the entire story of the American Civil War ... without bias to the Union or Confederate causes". The exhibition covers the period from 1850 to 1876, with its major focus on the Civil War years of 1861 to 1865. The majority of the collection of over 24,000 artifacts, photographs, documents, manuscripts, and other printed matter was acquired between 1994 and 1999 by the city of Harrisburg, under Mayor Stephen R. Reed, who is the museum's founder. Part of the rationale for the museum's location is Harrisburg's relative closeness to Gettysburg, and the many tourists who visit there. Three-dimensional objects (artifacts) comprise about 3,500 items, of which one-fourth (850 items) are on display in the permanent galleries of the building. The balance is held in secure storage for future exhibits and for scholarly research, the latter reserved for Museum members and by appointment only.
The museum's galleries are as follows:
- A House Divided, 1850â€"1860 (examines the events leading up to the Civil War); Highlights a speech given by Abraham Lincoln in Washington D.C. in 1860, in which he claimed that a house divided cannot stand.
- American Slavery: The Peculiar Institution, 1850â€"1860 (how nineteenth-century Americans saw slavery);
- First Shots, April 1861 (Fort Sumter); '''''''The first shots of the American Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Abraham Lincoln wanted the confederates to fire the first shots and invade Federally owned land, in order to retaliate with greater force. After they fired at him, he quickly called for 75,000 troops to come start fighting, which was a drastic change from the 15,000 soldiers that they had previously. (Lecture Material)' '
- Making of Armies (recruiting, training, and equipping both armies);
- Weapons and Equipment (with many artifacts);Disease continued to cause most war deaths, but conscription and massive armies, more powerful and accurate weapons, and civilian targets increased casualties in the mid-1800 conflicts and later wars(Montoya)
- Campaigns and Battles of 1861â€"1862 (early campaigns and the tactics, strategies. and logistics);
- Battle Map, 1861â€"1862 (emphasis on how geography and topography affected troop movements);
- Camp Curtin (the Civil War's largest Union camp, located in Harrisburg);
- Why Men Fought, 1861â€"1863 (motivations of soldiers on both sides);
- Civil War Music (displays of musical instruments and recorded music to listen to);
- Gettysburg, 1863 (a turning point of the war); Total casualties of nearly 50,000 men made it the largest battle ever on North American soil. Lee lost one-third of his soldiers and retreated south. Although Meade failed to cut off Lee’s escape, the Union victory at Gettysburg was decisive.(Montoya
- Costs of War (Civil War medicine); There were tremendous costs to the war in terms of opportunity, finances, lives, animals, buildings, farmland, and even psychologically. After 4 long years of this war, 600,000-750,000 Americans were killed. Additionally, this war created the nation's first ever income tax. (In class lecture)
- Women in the War (women's various roles); Being the bloodiest war in American history, women seized the chance to aid the war effort by assisting sick and wounded soldiers. They even worked to establish the United States Sanitary Commission, and women such as Clara Barton used this opportunity to launch their global efforts and campaign for things such as the Red Cross. All of the contributions made by women during the civil war helped lead to the establishment as nursing as a professional job for women today. (Montoya)
- Navy (focuses on maritime engagements); After the Emancipation Proclomation on January 1, 1863, African Americans were allowed to serve in the army and navy. They helped out a lot in the war and by the end, 200,000 African Americans had served in the Navy.(Montoya) In fact, the Federal Government became the largest employer of African Americans between the years of 1863 and 1865, as Lincoln announced "We reserve the right to employ the slaves that runaway." (Lecture)
- Campaigns and Battles of 1864â€"1865 (the last years of the Civil War);
- Battle Map, 1863â€"1865 (from Stones River to Appomattox);
- Lincoln: War & Remembrance (remembering the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and veterans' roles after the war). Lincoln's overall role in the Civil War received a lot of scrutiny and praise at the time. For example, Horace Greeley, along with many other people, wrote him telling him to execute the contraband law and take runaway slaves and not return them. She proclaimed that he should "Fight slavery with Liberty." However, Lincoln responded by stating that his paramount object was to save the union, not slavery. If he were able to do so by freeing no slaves, he would, just as he would do so by freeing all slaves if that were necessary. (Lecture)
A video We the People focuses on ten characters from all walks of life and their fates before, during, and after the war. It is presented in segments in galleries 1, 4, 9, 14 and concludes in the theater.
Artifacts
The museum contains a large collection of original artifacts, including weapons, uniforms, camp and personal effects and similar items. Among the many articles on display are:
- The portable writing kit of General Winfield Scott
- 1852 Sharps carbine and a pike head from the raid on Harper’s Ferry
- The last battle map used by General Robert E. Lee during the Appomattox campaign
- The pen used by Governor Wise to sign John Brown’s death warrant
- Lincoln’s leather hat box used on the 1860 (first term) campaign trail
- Two of three know sabers of General J.E.B. Stuart's including one presented by his cousin on Stuart’s wedding
- A sleeve of General George Pickett removed from his coat after he was wounded at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill, traces of blood are visible
- Shadow box of relics once in possession of "Stonewall" Jackson, including hair from his horse, "Little Sorell", wood from his chair, and cloth from his desk
- Major General George McClellan’s saddle, used when he was General-In-Chief of the Union army
- Lee’s hat cord and Bible, inscribed in his hand, used for almost 20 years, until its capture four days before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox
- A sword belt presented to General Ulysses S. Grant to commemorate the capture of Vicksburg
- A gauntlet worn by “Stonewall†Jackson earlier in the war
- A Bowie knife captured from one of "Mosby’s Rangers"
- Doeskin riding gauntlets belonging to Lee
- A chair taken from the captured Confederate White House
- Kepi belonging to Major General Pickett
- A lock of hair belonging to and a post-war painting of General George Pickett passed down through his family
- A bullet-ridden fence post from along the Harrisburg Road in Gettysburg
- Various other rifles, revolvers, officer’s swords, and munitions later discovered on battlefields
- Rare chains, iron shackles, and bracelets from the antebellum slave trade, including a slave collar with remnants of the original linen interior lining
- A wooden saddle and tack box used by Grant
- Memorabilia from Civil War veterans reunions
- A collection of memorabilia from Lincoln’s assassination including a lock of Lincoln’s hair, a sash from the funeral train, (the original) telegram ordering the arrest of John Wilkes Booth, a ticket to that night’s production of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre, a replica of his "life mask", and a fragment of Mary Todd Lincoln's dress that she wore the night of the assassination
- The key to Libby Prison, a prison used for Federal officers
- Lead bullets, complete with teeth marks, given to patients in anticipation of pain during surgery
- Stateroom plaque inscribed "D.G. Farragut, USN" carried by him from stateroom to stateroom during his naval career
- A Lincoln administration china plate and a lantern from Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois
See also
- National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus
- National World War I Museum
- National World War II Museum
- New England Civil War Museum
References
External links
- Official website
