EXHIBITS Copyright  Jim Schafer 2001 jslocfoto@aol.com
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Our Exhibit Galleries are on both floors of the Museum.  Your self-guided tour begins on the Second Floor. Ascend the Grand staircase and turn left or take the elevator behind the staircase and exit the elevator to the right.
SECOND FLOOR - Gallery map
1 A House Divided (Start Here) 2 The Peculiar Institution: 3 First Shots 4 Making of Armies 5 Weapons & Equipment	6 Campaigns of 1862 7 Battle Map 8 Camp Curtin 9 Why Men Fought 10 Civil War Music
Read more about the galleries below
FIRST FLOOR - Gallery map
11 Battle of Gettysburg 12 The Costs of War 13 Women in War 14 The Navy	15 Campaigns of 1864-65 16 Battle Map 17 Lincoln: War & Remembrance 18 Elevator
Read more about the galleries below

SECOND FLOOR

1. A House Divided (Start Here) - A House Divided features a time line of incidents and issues in United States history prior to the Civil War, comparisons of the Northern and Southern economies, the John Brown raid on Harpers Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln, and a map showing the division of the country. Our We the People video introduces you to ten Americans – Northerners and Southerners, men and women, white and black, military and civilian – who endured typical hardships and heartache in the four-year conflict. Come face-to-face with history and watch it come alive.
2. The Peculiar Institution: - American Slavery: The Peculiar Institution presents slavery as seen by 19th century Americans, including a dramatic depiction of a slave auction, with lifelike mannequins. Hear the words of those who supported and opposed the “peculiar institution” and see rare artifacts from the everyday life of those held in bondage. See and feel the emotionalism of this highly sensitive issue.
3. First Shots depicts the firing on Fort Sumter, with lifelike mannequins manning a 10-inch seacoast mortar. A photographic mural, covering an entire wall, shows the destruction of the bombardment that forced the fort’s surrender. Displays discuss the war aims of the North and South, and how unprepared both sides were for the war.
4. Making of Armies focuses on the recruitment, training and equipping of what would become one of the largest armies in America. The story of the impact of the war on people is vividly portrayed in another of our chapters in We the People. Our characters share their thoughts as the war heats up.
5. Weapons & Equipment continues the theme of how the armies were created, using the Museum’s world class collection of firearms, swords, accoutrements, ammunition, and uniforms of the infantry, cavalry, artillery and navy of the Union and Confederate forces.
6. Campaigns and Battles of 1862 provides an overview of tactics, strategies and logistics as practiced by the many West Point trained officers who led the troops in the Civil War at the Battles of New Orleans, Shiloh, the Peninsula, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.
7. Battle Map showing the widespread battles of 1862, from Grant’s capture of Forts Henry and Donelson to the disastrous Union attacks at Fredericksburg, with a memorable video narration by noted Civil War historian Dr. James I. “Bud” Robertson, Jr.
8. Camp Curtin was the largest Union training camp of the Civil War, located here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Over 300,000 men passed through its gates on the way to war. Our largest life size diorama, with nine lifelike mannequins, presents a picture of how soldiers passed time in camp.
9. Why Men Fought explains the varied motivations of soldiers, including the many immigrants and African-Americans who took up arms.
10. Civil War Music inspired men on both sides. Listen to tape recordings of Northern and Southern tunes, spirituals and bugle calls, and see examples of instruments and sheet music.

FIRST FLOOR

11. Gettysburg was the turning point of the war in the East. One video program presents a vivid picture of Civil War battles; two others show how the Artillery and Infantry loaded and fired their weapons. A huge mural depicts oncoming Confederates and a life-size diorama places you in the midst of the fabled Pickett’s Charge.
12. Cost of War looks at medicine during the Civil War. A riveting scene, with life-size mannequins, shows a surgeon preparing to amputate a soldier’s leg. Displays include medical equipment used in the field and at hospitals, a complete ambulance, crutches and artificial limbs. Another display looks at the inhumane conditions in prisoner of war camps, both North and South. Once again, our video series brings the impact of war back to a personal level as our characters tell their stories of heartbreak and suffering.
13. Women in the War looks at the roles women during the Civil War, ranging from factory workers to nurses, and from farmhands to the occasional spy and soldier.
14. Navy artifacts remind visitors that not all of the war was fought on land. Northerners and Southerners faced each other on the high seas, along the blockaded coast, and on the many inland rivers.
15. Campaigns and Battles of 1864-65 cover the Overland Campaign, the March to the Sea, the Siege of Petersburg, the North Carolina Campaign and Appomattox.
16. Battle Map showing the widespread battles from Stones River to Appomattox, again with a humanistic video narration by noted Civil War historian Dr. James I. “Bud” Robertson, Jr.
    
    Theater presents A Nation Endures, a 16-minute video every 20 minutes about the end of the war. The program shows the events and emotions following the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Our We the People cast appears for the last time to relate their experiences and talk about their hopes for the future.
17. Lincoln: War & Remembrance looks at the impact of the Civil War on America – the post war constitutional amendments, reconstruction, westward expansion and technological advancement. It concludes with how we remember the war and the final video program shows newsreel footage of Civil War veterans – North and South – meeting on the battlefields of their youth 50 and 75 years later. Handshakes have replaced bullets.