The National Civil War Museum, located at One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a private 501c(3) nonprofit promoting the preservation of material culture and sources of information that are directly relevant to the American Civil War and the postwar period as related to veterans' service organizations, including the Grand Army of the Republic and the United Confederate Veterans. The museum serves as the National Headquarters for the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW).

History

Former Harrisburg mayor Stephen R. Reed supported the museum's development, which cost $32 million. The museum is privately owned and opened to the public in 2001. In 2015, the museum published a book about U.S. General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. In 2009, the museum affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.

Location

The museum is located in a two-story brick building in Harrisburg's Reservoir Park in the Allison Hill neighborhood. The exhibits and self-guided tour begin on the museum's second floor (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 contributes to the museum's memorial-like grounds.

Exhibits

The museum's exhibits are designed to "inspire lifelong learning of the American Civil War through the preservation and balanced presentation of the American peoples' struggles for survival and healing". The exhibition covers from 1850 to 1876, focusing on the Civil War years of 1861 to 1865. The City of Harrisburg acquired most of the over 24,000 artifacts, photographs, documents, manuscripts, and other printed matter between 1994 and 1999. 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 scholarly research, reserved for Museum members and by appointment only. The museum's galleries are as follows: 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, and 14 and concludes in the theater.

Artifacts

The museum contains many original artifacts, including weapons, uniforms, camp and personal effects, and similar items. Among the many articles on display are: