One of the things I like about this museum is that they have some very interesting exhibits. Right now they have one on The Civil War. I am fascinated by The Civil War. I have ancestors who fought on both sides (again with that recurring north/south theme of my life...) and I enjoy visiting battlefields such at Gettysburg and Ft. Donelson. My favorite book of all time is "Gone With the Wind." If you have never read it, I urge you to do so. It is delicious - it's a love story, a fight for survival and American history centered around the war and is all rolled up into one epic book. The movie is also really good with Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Clark Gable as Rhett will forever be the man of my dreams - That debounair, devil may care, dashing and mysterious, charming and handsome, elegant man of the south . Ok, enough about Clark Gable. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" Don't even get me started - just go read the book.
There was a brief history...
A genuine cast taken of President Lincoln's face and his hand.... I was amazed at how large his hands were.
A drummers drum. It was just beautiful actually and very well preserved.
The telegraph and Morse Code played an important part in the Civil War. The dots and dashes of Morse Code are a mystery to me. Imagine using that instead of e-mail today?
This was my favorite piece - it was a pipe that belonged to a Rebel spy.
A Commodore's Naval Uniform.....
A Union Soldier's uniform....
Several different kinds of firearms....
A Gatlin gun....
Some period rooms......
Hot Air Balloons were used during the Civil War to gain a unique perspective on the battle fields. Commanders would go up in the balloons to survey the action taking place far below. Here's my mom standing in a replica of one of the hot air balloons.
And here's me, being a nut and pretending I am dangling from the rope...
All in all, it was an interesting exhibit and a nice way to spend a cold and rainy morning. If you've ever visited a Civil War battlefield and enjoyed it, please let me know where you went. In the meantime, excuse me while I go pop "Gone With the Wind" into my DVD player.