The Museum of the Confederacy

            The historical site chosen was the Museum of the Confederacy in Appomattox, Virginia. This museum deals with American Civil War era artifacts and topics.  However, the museum focuses primarily on the different aspects of the home front during the Civil War and on the Confederate side and the life of a confederate soldier.  Characteristics such as the life styles of both the soldiers and the families they left behind during the war.  Another important aspect about the museum was that it commemorated was General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy and the Battle at the Appomattox Courthouse. 

            As for what I learned at the Museum of the Confederacy, there was so much to learn there it would take more than one trip to the museum and multiple tours through the galleries inside.  Some of the most important things that I learned there were about the Confederate General Robert E. Lee.  I learned that Lee’s sword and the uniform that he wore when surrendered at the Appomattox Courthouse were never used in battle. The sword, which is on display, was made in France out of ivory, gold, and steel. As for the Lee’s uniform, it too was on display along with his riding gloves and the pen he used to sign the surrender to Ulysses Grant, Lee only wore that uniform once in his life and that was when he sign the surrender to Grant.  The museum also had Lee’s “death mask”, this was a plaster mold of Lee’s head created when he died. The death mask was common in his day since it was considered inappropriate to take a photograph of someone who was dead if they were famous or important. The mask was the last likeness of Robert Lee.

Another interesting fact that had I learned was about a type of food Civil War soldiers had called hard tack. This food was made out of flour, salt, and water cooked extremely hot. The reason for this was so when the hard tack cooled it would become rock hard and not spoil. The only way to make it edible was to soak in something like soup or a stew.

As for why the Museum of the Confederacy is important, it not only commemorates the Battle of Appomattox and Robert E. Lee.  The museum also shows what life was like for both soldiers and the families they left behind when they enlisted.  For the soldiers it was everything from their weapons and uniforms to what they did to keep themselves occupied and fed. As for the home front, it was how hard life was for people during the war from trying to feed themselves to trying to take care of the family farm. The museum also has an original cabin from the Civil War time period to help show what life was like for people during the war.

The Museum of the Confederacy does an excellent job at both interpreting and presenting the life on the home front and a soldier’s life in ways that were both interesting and unbiased. For example, the museum did not pick a side between the Union and the Confederacy over who was morally or politically correct, nor ridicule the other side. While the museum did focus on the Confederacy, it was not in a negative or positive way.  The museum simply presented the historical facts of what occurred at Appomattox, VA during the spring of 1865.  Specifically the events leading up to and concluding with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by General Robert E. Lee.  The gallery does display people and events of those relevant to the time that were not Confederate soldiers.  Such as Union soldiers and leaders, southern families dealing with the effects of the war and enslaved Africans during the war and immediately afterwards.