The Civil War in Missouri

"The Civil War in Missouri," is a block buster exhibit. On view at The Missouri History Museum, November 12, 2011-March 16, 2013, it commemorates the roles of Missourians as part of the Civil War sesquicentennial (2011-2014).

Admitted as a slave state in 1821 and populated by new immigrants (mostly faithful to the Federal Union), Missouri was a microcosm of the bitter division and polarization of the country in regard to slavery. Missouri still bears traces of this conflict in its ongoing battle of agrarian vs. industrial influences (refer to news stories about the recent Special Session).

The exhibit has plenty of historical facts. For example, 2/3 of the 600,000 dead soldiers were killed by diseases and not direct war casualties. Historians estimate that 1 million horses and mules were killed also. However, it is not the facts, but the personal stories which make the exhibit so worthwhile. From the famous (William Greenleaf Eliot) to the not so famous (Mary Todd Lincoln's personal assistant, a freed Missouri slave), the stories are compelling.

Spend some time at the first H.D. t.v./computer monitor where the "rap sheets" on some Missourians are presented. Near the end of the exhibit is another monitor which gives closure to the lives of these same individuals. Finally at the tail-end of the exhibit, you may add your voice by "building" a computer monument memorializing the war.

The artifacts in the exhibit are outstanding. The tools of war (guns, swords, flags, uniforms, and even snare drums) inject a note of authenticity. Other artifacts from the lives of ordinary Missourians, like quilts, glassware, bills of sale, and "loyalty" oaths are just as mesmerizing. The USA Hospital Department Surgical Set and the sheet for surgical illustration of amputations (from the Becker Medical Library, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine) are NOT for the weak of stomach.

Both the artifacts and personal stories hint at a state-wide psychological war within the war. The use of interactive computers is easy, illustrative, and educational. A large light box, for example, illustrates the Western Sanitary Fair. Held in St Louis for a two week period each year, the fair raised $750,000.00 for supplies (Union) through 1864. Press the picture of the booth at the fair and a card slides out to describe it while authentic music from the period plays.

In the exact center of the exhibit is another interactive computer showing troop movements of both sides for the duration of the war, complete with dates, arrows, and explosions. Another interactive computer lets you build your own "iron-sides" and then test if it is "sea-worthy". On opening weekend, seven authors presented talks on their books. The books document the "heart-wrenching stories of Missourians on both sides" and remain on sale til the end of the exhibit at www.mohistory.org.

I attended the talk by William C. Winter who summarized the story of Captain Joseph Boyce: Irish, Catholic, and Confederate leader in the 1st Missouri Infantry, C.S.A. As an Irish immigrant, Boyce had no direct connection with slavery, but was an eye witness to federal bullying and civilian massacre at Camp Jackson. Boyce was wounded three times and served in battles in Kentucky (1861), Shiloh, Grand Gulf (1863), Baton Rouge, Atlanta, and Fort Blakely (the last defense of Mobile, AL, in 1864).

After the war, Boyce started a tobacco company with his brother, married Mary Casey of Carondolet (from a wealthy lead mining family), and spent the last years of his life writing a history of the Civil War as he experienced it.

Whether it was martial law in St Louis or the "Burnt Chimneys" Incident affecting 20,000 in Jackson County, MO, the residents of Missouri suffered. The exhibit re-tells the story with artifacts, quotes, imagery, and interactive computers. The Civil War in Missouri comes alive and is well worth the admission prices. As usual, the Missouri History Museum is open late and free on Tuesdays, from 4:00p.m.-8:00p.m.