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HOURS
Monday - Saturday: 10am - 4pm
Sunday: noon - 4pm
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An American Turning Point
The Civil War In Virginia
July 21 - November 18 & January 12 - May 5
An American Turning Point tells the story of how
the people of Virginia experienced the Civil War. The
lynchburg Museum will host the exhibit in two parts:
Surviving War, July 21 - November 18, 2012
Waging War, January 12 - May 5, 2013
The exhibit features over 200 significant artifacts and
state-of-the-art interactive audiovisual programs.
The Lynchburg Museum
901 Court Street | Lynchburg, VA
Civilian experiences are emphasized in Surviving War,
which asks the visitors to consider who was a patriot
and who was a traitor? Why is there a West Virginia?
Who freed the slaves?
In Waging War, visitors are asked to explore why the Civil
War was the first modern war, what was the deadliest
enemy, should black men be asked to fight for the North or
South, and did the war really end at Appomattox?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW AN AMERICAN TURNING POINT FLYER
An American Turning Point is made possible by the Virginia Historical
Society in partnership with the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American
Civil War Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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The Lynchburg Museum Opens A New
Civil War Exhibit:
LYNCHBURG AT WAR: 1861-1865
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE EXHIBIT'S FLIER
When Virginia seceded from the Union in April 1861, life for the 6,800 people who lived in Lynchburg was about to change forever. For the next four years, the city became a military training camp and supply base, a Confederate hospital center second only to Richmond, a target of the United States army, and a city of mourners.
At times, the number of soldiers in Lynchburg exceeded civilians. Trains delivered hundreds of sick and wounded with no one to care for them. Lynchburg’s women became leaders by nursing the sick, making war material and managing homes and businesses. At the end of four years of war, Lynchburg’s 2,700 slaves were free, the city was occupied by a hostile army, and no one knew what the future might hold.
From April 16, 2011 to June 15, 2012, the Lynchburg Museum, located at 901 Court Street, will present Lynchburg at War: 1861-1865. The exhibit, created as part of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, looks at the impact of the war on the people of the city. Rare artifacts with a Lynchburg connection have been loaned by the Virginia Historical Society, VMI Museum, Museum of the Confederacy, South Carolina Relic Room, Jones Memorial Library, Stonewall Brigade Band and private lenders.
Included is a letter to Gen. Wade Hampton, III, signed by Jefferson Davis, swords of Generals Munford and Dearing, a Confederate surgeon’s chest and epaulettes worn by Gen. Rodes. The exhibit also displays a wedding dress converted to mourning attire, mourning jewelry worn by local women, soldiers’ bibles, weapons, flags and more.
Junius Tinsley was a bugler for the Stonewall Brigade, killed during the Battle of Lynchburg by a cannon shell that hit the bugle. The Stonewall Brigade Band of Staunton loaned the rare bugle to the exhibit. Also featured are images and artifacts of Dr. John Terrell, Mary Forsberg, Gaston Otey, Augustus Forsberg, Dr. Edley Craighill, DeWitt Guy, Augustine Leftwich, Jr., Jenny Stabler, Martha Payne, Narcissa Owen and many others.
Museum Director Doug Harvey noted “Many of the artifacts and images in the exhibit have never been displayed in Lynchburg before and may never be again.”
on how the Civil War affected Lynchburg...
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MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Lynchburg Museum System is to collect, interpret, and preserve the history and material culture of Lynchburg and the surrounding area.
