BEGIN YOUR TOUR ON THE
THIRD FLOOR
As you
make your way to the third floor, you will pass a large collection
of Military Escutcheons located to your
left in the main hallway and the stairway leading to the second
floor. A handout describing the history of Military
Escutcheons is available in the main hall.
Third Floor Front:
A variety
of artifacts are exhibited on the third floor, including
displays dedicated to the cavalry, Major General Winfield
Scott Hancock (one of the heroes of the Battle of Gettysburg);
medicine, camp accoutrements, the Grand Army of the Republic
(the largest post-war veteran's group); edged weapons, headgear,
battle flags, Confederate currency, bullets and firearms.
The years prior to the Civil War saw great changes in the
technology of firearms, which can be seen in the exhibit tracing
the evolution of the military long arm from the Revolutionary
War through the Civil War (to your right as you enter the gallery).
When walking
down the short set of stairs please note the large painting
(to your left) depicting the climax of " Pickett's
Charge" on July 3, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg.
This painting, rendered by a veteran of the Civil War, is a
copy of the Peter Rothermel work currently on exhibit at the
William Penn Museum in Harrisburg, PA.
Third Floor Rear:
Founded
by Union veterans, much of the institution's collections
are understandably Federal in nature. However, significant
artifacts related to the Confederate States of America are
exhibited in the room just beyond the short stairway. Among
the artifacts displayed are objects related to Confederate
President
Jefferson Davis; Captain Henry Wirz (commandant of Andersonville
Prison), and Colonel John S. Mosby. The case going toward the
back room displays various MOLLUS insignia
badges. Behind the Confederate Room is a 19th century parlor
maintained by the Dames of the Loyal Legion. The china head
doll in the case to your right is a representation of Mary
Todd Lincoln.
When taking
the longer stairs toward the LINCOLN
ROOM, please note the portraits
of such individuals as Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles;
Edmund Zalinski (a West Point artillery and ordinance instructor);
Brevet Major General James Sanks Brisbin (holding sword);
Brevet Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Fisher, of the
U.S. Signal Corps; and Colonel Peter Lyle (of the 19th
and 90th Pennsylvania Regiments). Portraits of Generals
Hector Tyndale, George H. Thomas, Robert Patterson, Napoleon
J.T. Dana, and Philip Sheridan surround the door leading
to the LINCOLN ROOM.
Second Floor Front: The Lincoln Room
The Museum's ABRAHAM LINCOLN
ROOM, its
largest gallery, features what is believed to comprise the
largest permanent display of photographs, art works, memorabilia,
and other materials related to the life and times of our
nation's 16th president. Among
the unique artifacts are the battle logs, cut from trees
containing bullets and shell fragments from Gettysburg and
other battlefields; infantry-sized regimental flags (with
the dimension of six by six and a half feet). Look for the
gold oval framed portrait of Lincoln which was painted in life
by David Bustill Bowser, a Philadelphian African-American
artist noted for painting regimental flags for the U.S. Colored
Troops.
Second Floor Rear: The Grant and Navy
Rooms:
After descending
the short set of stairs you will be in a room dedicated to Lieutenant
General Ulysses S. Grant. In addition to exhibiting
a variety of artifacts directly related to General Grant,
this room also contains many of the museum's Union and Confederate
regimental histories.
Behind
the Grant room is the Navy Room. The model of the USS
MONITOR again demonstrates the change in technology
before or during the Civil War. As the U.S. Navy's first
steam-powered ironclad, the USS MONITOR was
the predecessor to the modern cruiser and destroyer.
First Floor: MEADE Room
The front room is dedicated to Major General
George Gordon Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac
at the Battle of Gettysburg. Additional information on "Old
Baldy", General Meade's War Horse, whose stuffed and
mounted head is in the large display case, is on the Military
Escutcheons handout.
Other Pennsylvania generals honored in this room are: John
Fulton Reynolds, and George Brinton McClellan.
Located
on the bottom of the long set of stairs, through the first
door to your left, the Special
Exhibts Room allows us to
examine specific subjects in greater detail, often using
rarely displayed artifacts from its collections. A current
highlight is the frock coat worn by Major
General William T. Sherman.
