Devil's Den, Gettysburg

Description

The Union soldiers defending this pile of giant boulders just west of Little Round Top found themselves on the far left flank of the Federal line July 2, 1863. They were the first to take on Confederate Gen. James Longstreet's assault that day. This audio tour covers the fight for Devil's Den and the true story behind one of the Civil War's most famous photographs.

Battleground National Cemetery

Description

This podcast provides a self-guided tour of Battleground National Cemetery. According to the Battle Creek Park website, ". . . Battleground National Cemetery is one of nine Civil War installations under the stewardship of Rock Creek Park and serves as the final resting place for the majority of Union Civil War soldiers who perished while defending Washington, D.C. during a Confederate attack on July 11th and 12th, 1864."

To listen to this tour, select "podcast" under "Battleground National Cemetery."

Hanover Tavern [VA]

Description

The Hanover Tavern is a 1791 county government building, which would have originally existed within a complex including a courthouse and jail. The tavern complex has served as a Union and Confederate boarding house and the site of the first U.S. armed slave insurrection, the 1800 Gabriel's Slave Rebellion. Today, the site serves as a historic interpretive center, community center, and restaurant.

The tavern offers workshops, lectures, family nights, and self-guided tours.

Old Dutch Church Heritage Museum [NY]

Description

The Old Dutch Church Heritage Museum presents the history of a working Reformed Protestant church founded in 1659. The church dominies actively promoted the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War and the Union cause during the Civil War—with the site being used as a state armory and field hospital in the 1860s. The earliest grave on site dates to 1710. The current structure dates to 1859.

The church offers exhibits and archival access. Appointments are required for archival access.

Liberty Hall Museum [NJ]

Description

The Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University is the former home of New Jersey's first elected governor, William Livingston, who is also notable for being a signer of the US Constitution. The home was originally built as a 14-room Georgian style home, and has since grown into a 50-room Victorian mansion. The site houses extensive collections of antique furniture and historical artifacts owned by the seven generations of Livingston and Kean families who have since owned the home.

The home offers guided tours, special events, and field trip programs. The website offers a history of the home, an events calendar, and visitor information.

Ellwood Manor [VA]

Description

The 5,000-acre Ellwood represents a fairly typical antebellum agricultural property. Built circa 1790 by William Jones, the residence served as a Confederate hospital for the wounded of the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville; and Gouverneur K. Warren used the grounds as a Union headquarters during the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness. Following the battle, Ellwood's caretakers, Confederate sympathizers, were imprisoned; and the estate was abandoned for the next eight years. The Ellwood cemetery holds "Stonewall" Jackson's amputated arm, and several of the 25,000 dead of the Battle of the Wilderness were temporarily interred on site.

The estate offers house tours. Ellwood Manor is located within the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial.

Berkeley Plantation [VA]

Description

Berkeley Plantation is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V (1726-1791), Governor of Virginia and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) or "Old Tippecanoe", ninth President of the United States. The plantation lands were also the site of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619 and of the composition of "Taps" in 1862. The structure itself is Georgian in style and dates to 1726. Collections include 18th-century decorative arts, Civil War artifacts, and paintings by Sydney King.

The plantation offers house tours led by guides in period dress, period rooms, exhibits, an audio-visual program, self-guided tours of the grounds, and guided student tours. Student tour topic options include the life of children in the 18th century, William Henry Harrison, and Civil War Major General George McClellan (1826-1885) and Harrison's Landing circa 1862.

Pamplin Historical Park [VA]

Description

The 422-acre Pamplin Historical Park commemorates Civil War history. The park location is that of the April 2, 1865 "Breakthrough," the battle which caused the evacuation of the Confederate capital at Richmond. The grounds include four museums, four antebellum homes, and living history sites. Constituting the primary draw of the park is the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, which presents the story of the common soldier involved in the Civil War. The three other museums cover plantation life; slavery in the United States (The Field Quarter); and the battle of April 2, 1865 (The Battlefield Center). The antebellum structures include the 1812 Tudor Hall Plantation house, once the headquarters of Confederate General Samuel McGowan (1819-1897), and the 1700s-era Banks House, Union Lt. General Grant's (1822-1885) headquarters following the battle. The park also offers trails among some of the nation's best-preserved Civil War fortifications.

The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier offers exhibits, life-size dioramas, films, interactive learning stations, an audio tour which makes use of the words of actual soldiers, and a multi-sensory battlefield simulation. The Field Quarter offers a film, an exhibit, heritage livestock, and reconstructed dwellings. The Military Encampment offers hands-on activities. The Battlefield Center offers a multimedia presentation and exhibits. The Banks house offers period rooms. The park also offers educational programs, Civil War Adventure camps, history day camps, interpretive trails, self-guided audio tours of the Breakthrough Battlefield and Tudor Hall plantation, guided battlefield and Tudor Hall tours, tours on a variety of subjects offered on request, interpreters in period costume, artillery and civilian skill demonstrations, and vending machines. Pre- and post-visit activities are available on the website.

Centenary State Historic Site [LA]

Description

Centenary State Historic Site commemorates Centenary College, an all-male college (circa 1839-1908) which was previously located on today's historic site. With the college closed during the Civil War, both the Union and Confederate forces made use of the school structures for hospitals and/or area headquarters. The structures which remain on-site were the West Wing and the residence of a professor.

The site offers period rooms, tours, educational programs, and picnic facilities.