While one can always visit Vicksburg National Military Park, they also have a great exhibit online. Even those who have already been to the park should take a look. The site offers short essays on different aspects of the Vicksburg Siege as well as related images. In addition, the exhibit uses the U.S.S. Cairo as a way to teach visitors about river warfare. One can take a virtual tour of the U.S.S. Cairo as well as learn more about life aboard the ship. Teachers may want to check out the National Park Service’s “Teaching with Museum Collections” for several lesson plans that incorporate material in the Vicksburg exhibit.

The New York Times recently published a review of two new exhibits on John Brown – one from the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond and another from the New York Historical Society. (The New York Historical Society’s exhibit draws on material from the Gilder Lehrman Institute and some of it is online, as I noted in previous post). Both exhibits may tell a similar story, but they have different perspectives on Brown. Edward Rothstein explains that the New York exhibit “suggests” that “Brown’s legacy…finally found fruition in the 1960s civil rights movement.” As for the Richmond exhibit, the focus is Brown’s decision to sue violence as a means to end slavery. “We hear the clamor of the debate more clearly” as Rothstein notes that this exhibit asks visitors to consider whether “an individual [has] the right to carry out violent acts based on conscience.” While different views on Brown are not surprising, it is interesting to see them reflected in exhibits open at the same time.

The New York Historical Society recently opened “Lincoln and New York,” a new exhibit that aims to “fully trace the evolution of Lincoln’s relationship” with the state. The exhibit includes not only Lincoln’s visits to New York, such as for his Cooper Union address in February 1860, but also explores the impact of his administration’s policies during the Civil War. In addition, the material on display highlights the extent of serious political opposition that Lincoln could face even in northern states. “We see New York’s version of the Civil War being fought using words, ideas, images and, at least during the 1863 Draft Riots, a fair amount of blood, with Lincoln as the battles’ nexus,” as the New York Times’ Edward Rothstein explains in his review. If you can’t make it to the exhibit (which runs through March 25, 2010), be sure to check out their interactive exhibit online.

Duke University’s Sallie Bingham Center is an invaluable resource for studying the life and culture of American women. While the collection covers a broad range of topics on all aspects of women’s history, its strength is in Southern women and there are a great deal of resources pertaining specifically to the 19th century. This page features an extensive list of the primary sources that the collection has relating to domestic and social life in the 19th century.  Any one of these collections of family correspondence and diary entries could be useful in understanding the cultural and domestic context to the Civil War, but many have not yet been archived online. The resources that can be accessed online now are found here. Other collections relating explicitly to the Civil War period can be found on the subject guides page. Hopefully the Center will continue to provide more digital resources so that the documents in this collection can be accessed by a wider audience.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has a new online exhibit on John Brown. The exhibit covers Brown’s life in the 1850s, the attack on Harpers Ferry, and Brown’s legacy. While only a few documents are available right now, they will add more material every month through March 2010.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute has a number of other online exhibits, including one on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (co-produced by the House Divided Project).

A number of organizations in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland have organized events for the sesquicentennial anniversary of John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. These include the Virginia Historical Society’s exhibit “The Portent: John Brown’s Raid in American Memory,” a reenactment of the march from the Kennedy Farm in Maryland to Harpers Ferry, and an academic symposium. The full list of events schedule for Oct – Dec 2009 is available here. (Registration is required for some of the events). In addition, the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park will commemorate Brown’s raid with a wide range of activities from Oct. 16-18. Check out the full schedule here. Teachers may want to check out this list of resources, which include links to lesson plans.

The Civil War Museum of Philadelphia, which remains closed as it plans for moving into a new building, has announced that items from their collection will be on display at several institutions in Pennsylvania. Tentative plans call for the museum to partner with the Gettysburg National Park Visitors Center, the National Constitution Center, and the African American Museum in Philadelphia. In addition, the museum will participate in an exhibit that will visit locations throughout the country as part of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Hopefully the museum will be able to reopen before 2014, but in the meantime this plan seems like the best option. Check out their website for online exhibits and more information.

Lori Forgay of the Denton Record-Chronicle informed readers last week of a book concerning Texas Civil War monuments.  “In Sacred Memories: The Civil War Monument Movement in Texas,” author Kelly McMichael explains what Civil War monuments meant to the people who erected them in Texas.  After travelling to all 68 of the major Texas Civil War monuments, McMichael examines their history and what the monuments symbolize.  McMichael also examines the controversery that is involved with all monuments, for trying to tell one side of a multi-faceted story.  McMichael’s book is available through amazon.com.

The infamous location of Lincoln’s assassination, Ford’s Theatre, reopened its doors in February with a dual functionality: theatre and museum.  The Ford’s Theatre Society along with its partner the National Park Service renovated the historic Washington DC landmark, adding a 7,000 square foot exhibit which memorializes Abraham Lincoln, and restoring the theater to its appearance on the evening of April 14, 1865–the night John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln.  The memorial exhibit offers patrons an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the presidential tenure of Abraham Lincoln through mini exhibits that document his endeavors beginning with his inaugural train ride and ending with his funeral precession.  Additionally, the balcony where Lincoln sat has been completely restored and will remain as a permanent exhibit within the actual theater.

If you find yourself planning a tour of our nation’s capital, you should definitely add the Ford’s Theatre to your list of sites to see.  However, if you don’t see yourself making the trip, I suggest you check out the society’s virtual tour.  For more information you should look over the New York Times’ review of the theater as well as the accompanying slideshow of digital photographs.

This weekend, the 18th and 19th of July, the National Park Service will hold an artillery demonstration at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, the Charleston Daily Mail informed readers this morning. The display is to show viewers how Stonewall Jackson’s men took the Union arsenal in the Battle of Harpers Ferry, in 1862. Also, there will be a demonstration concerning Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, informing the guests about the battle. These are just a few of these programs offered at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, a great place to visit.