Civil War Museum
Exhibits
"It's a Grand Old Flag"
Opens April 17, 2010
John M. Antaramian Gallery
More than 100 flags on display, including a rare California statehood flag carried by a California delegate to the Chicago Republican National Convention in 1860. It was at this convention that Abraham Lincoln was nominated for President. The 31-star parade flag is one of the rare surviving national flags from the Presidential nomination. The flags in the exhibit are on loan from a private collector, Tom Schiera, of Kenosha.
Many of the flags in the exhibit pertain to Civil War veterans groups, specifically the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and the United Confederate Veterans (UCV). Some of the flags are over-printed with post names and numbers from the times when these veterans groups were active. The oldest flag in the Schiera collection is a 30 star Wisconsin statehood flag dating back to about 1848. More details here.
The Fiery Trial Exhibit
Civil War Museum
5400 First Avenue
The Fiery Trial tells the personal stories of the men and women of the Upper MIddle West - specifically Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, and Michigan. Through state-of-the-art museum technology, life-size dioramas, and interactive engaging exhibits, visitors travel back in history to the social, political, and economic influences that contributed to the Civil War.
From the homefront, to the railroad and waterways, to the battlefront and back home again, the Civil War is seen through the eyes of soldiers, nurses, spouses, children, clergymen, slaves, tradesmen, and the others who lived it. Experience the battlefront, the incredible logistics and resources that were required to mount the war effort, and the deep emotions that tore families apart.
Medical care for Civil War soldiers in the field was extremely difficult.
See a surgeon's kit and a medicine chest.
Board a train car and listen to the personal stories of men
and women as they ride "The Iron Road to War."
Surviving the winter was a trial for Civil War soldiers.