The Civil War Museum is located on the lakefront in Kenosha. It is not named the Kenosha Civil War Museum. That is an important distinction, says Dan Joyce, director of Kenosha Public Museums. The museum, which opened in 2008 and attracts up to 75,000 visitors annually, focuses on how the upper Midwest — not just Kenosha — was affected by the war, and what role the region played in that conflict.
Among the museum’s newest attractions is “Seeing the Elephant,” a 10-minute, 360-degree movie that begins with the buildup to the war and follows a young adventurer, an abolitionist and a family man as they enlist, experience battle and reflect how the war has changed them. “Seeing the Elephant” surrounds viewers with sight and sound; it is shown on the hour and is included in the price of admission.
A temporary exhibit, “On the Way to War,” which runs through March 1, conveys “the universal experience of the citizen soldier,” Joyce said. “Take away the technology and the experience is the same; the training, camaraderie, frustration, boredom and fear.” Anchoring the exhibit are evocative watercolor paintings done on the way to the front lines in 1862 by soldier John Gaddis.
But the unique story of the upper Midwest’s Civil War experience unfolds in “The Fiery Trial,” a series of environment displays spanning 1850 through the end of the war that take visitors from the homefront (a fictional town called Fairfield) to supply depots, campsites and battlegrounds. Along with rare regional artifacts, such as a Kenosha militia flag, and firsthand documentation by a slave who fled north via the Underground Railroad, visitors can follow the fortunes of a dozen actual participants in the conflict, including a nurse, a soldier and an abolitionist.
Another museum exhibit is the Veteran’s Memorial Gallery, conceived as a contemplative space that, too, honors America’s citizen soldiers and symbolizes the commonality of the soldier’s experience through the centuries. Veterans from all wars are commemorated on a circular series of monoliths.
“They all share the same story,” Joyce said.
[email protected] More Top Picks Opendyslexic Font Does It Actually Work
Civil War Museum
When: Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: 5400 1st Ave., Kenosha
Tickets: $9 (adults), 262-653-4141 and kenosha.org/wp-civilwar