Civil War Events - Family Friendly

May 2012

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African American Civil War Museum
afroamcivilwar.org
The 10-foot Spirit of Freedom sculpture, the first major piece of art by a black sculptor to be placed on federal land in the District, memorializes African Americans in uniforms and their families. Also find, the Wall of Honor, which lists more than 200,000 names of who served in the Civil War. 1816 12th St. NW. FREE

Decatur House Slave Quarters
www.decaturhouse.org
Visit the historic home of naval hero Stephen Decatur, which contains one of Washington’s slave quarters. A permanent exhibit tells the story of two slaves who lived here when U.S. Representative Henry Clay lived in the house in 1827. 1610 H St. NW.

Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture
www.reynoldscenter.org
This imposing Greek Revival building was constructed between 1836-1868 to serve as the U.S. Patent Office. The ball following Lincoln's second Inauguration took place in the grand hall on the second floor - the first time a government building was used for the celebration – on the evening of March 6, 1865. The president would be dead five weeks later. Today the structure houses two of the Smithsonian Institution’s world-class art collections: the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Both hold significant collections of Civil War era art. The National Portrait Gallery’s collection of official presidential portraits is the only complete collection outside the White House. 8th & F Sts. NW. (202) 633-7970. Open daily from 11:30 am-7 pm; closed Dec. 25. FREE

Ford’s Theatre National Historical Site
www.fordstheatre.org
On April 14, 1865, President and Mrs. Lincoln were attending a performance of “Our American Cousin,” when Confederate activist and actor John Wilkes Booth shot the president. Lincoln died the next morning at Petersen House, located directly across the street. The theater closed its doors after the assassination and served as a warehouse, museum and office building for 90 years until President Eisenhower authorized its restoration in 1954. Ford’s reopened in 1968 and has since become a theatre known for staging classic American plays. Renovated in 2008, Ford’s waslargely restored to its 1865 appearance. The site also houses a museum packed full of artifacts such as Booth’s 44-caliber Deringer, and displays examining the assassination conspirators and their trials. 517 10th St. NW. (202) 426-6841. Open 9 am-5 pm (except during matinee performances).

Fort Stevens
www.nps.gov/rocr
Visit part of the fortifications built around DC to protect the capital city during the Civil War, now part of Rock Creek Park. During the Battle of Fort Stevens in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln risked his life to view the skirmish as Confederate sharpshooters attacked Union soldiers. 5200 Glover Rd. NW. FREE

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
www.nps.gov/frdo/
The former slave who became one of the giants of the Civil War era, purchased this 21-room home in 1877. Known as Cedar Hill, Douglass’s final home is located across the Anacostia River, and offers spectacular view of Washington. Refurbished in 2007, the site offers exhibits, interpretive programs, and a film which tells the story of Douglass’ life. 1411 W St. SE. (202) 426-5961. Open daily 9 am-4 pm between mid-October and mid-April, Cedar Hill closes an hour later in summer months. FREE

Marine Barracks’ Friday Evening Parades
www.marines.mil
A ceremony of music and precision marching performed by the United States Marine Band and the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, and Color Guard. The ceremony starts at 8:45 pm on Fridays during the summer. 8th & I St. SE. FREE but must have reservation.

National Archives and Records Administration
www.archives.gov
The National Archives are home to the official records of the federal government including the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The original handwritten Emancipation Proclamation is kept here and is annually displayed over the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. The National Archives is also a repository for Civil War buffs. Find draft records, court martial case files, Matthew Brady photographs and key pieces of correspondence, including a letter from Lincoln to his General-in-Chief Henry Halleck in 1863 suggesting that if General George Meade could follow up his victory at Gettysburg with another defeat of Robert E. Lee and his southern troops, the war would be brought to an end. 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. (202) 357-5000. FREE

National Museum of American History
americanhistory.si.edu
It is little wonder that the Smithsonian Institution is known as “America’s Attic.” This museum collects artifacts of all kinds—from gowns to locomotives—to preserve for the American people an enduring record of their past. The Civil War-era is represented by artifacts including Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and chairs from the courthouse at Appomattox. Items including the Woolworth’s lunch counter, site of the student sit-in in Greensboro, NC, preserve the history of the civil rights movement. 14th St. & Constitution Ave. NW. (202) 633-1000. Open daily; closed Dec. 25. FREE

The Price of Freedom: Americans at War

Historic Theater: The Student Sit-ins at the Greensboro Lunch Counter

President Lincoln’s Cottage
www.lincolncottage.org
President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldier's Home is the most significant site associated with Lincoln's presidency aside from the White House. Tour the house that Abraham Lincoln and his family lived for a quarter of his presidency and drafted the Emancipation Proclamation. The site also has a Visitors' Center which features galleries, a museum shop and an interactive exhibit. Guided tours of the Cottage are given daily, visit our website for details and tickets. Upshur Street at Rock Creek Church Rd, NW DC.

Washington Monument
www.nps.gov/wamo/
When war broke out between the states, the 555 1/8-foot tall Washington Monument was only one-third complete, although construction had begun in 1848. Demand for building supplies, funds and able-bodied troops brought construction of the delay-plagued monument dedicated to America’s first president to a halt. Construction resumed in 1876 and the monument was completed in 1888. Due to the long delays, the marble on the bottom third of the obelisk was taken from a different level in the quarry. As a result, it’s a different color. Tickets are required to ride to the top of the monument; same-day, timed-entry tickets are distributed at 8:30 am from the kiosk on 15th St. The monument is open from 9 am-5 pm daily except on July 4 and Dec. 25. Constitution Ave. & 15th St. NW. (202) 426-6841. Advance reservations are accepted but require small processing fee: (877) 444-6777.

International Spy Museum
www.spymuseum.org
Learn about Civil War spies such as Belle Boyd and Rose Greenbow. Time-travel forward into the twentieth century to see Cold War gadgets like buttonhole cameras, lipstick guns and cipher machines, or to take part in Operation Spy, the museum’s new hour-long, immersive espionage experience. 800 F St. NW. (202) 393-7798. The museum’s hours vary by season, opening as early as 9 am, and closing as late as 8 pm.

U.S. Capitol
www.visitthecapitol.gov
During the Civil War, the Capitol was used by Union forces as a barracks for approximately 4,000 troops. It houses a makeshift hospital and a bakery that produced an astonishing 16,000 loaves of bread each day. Without exception, visitors must enter through the Capitol Visitors Center (First St. at East Capitol). 1st St. between Independence & Constitution Aves. (202) 255-6827. Open daily between 8:30 am-4:30 pm, Monday through Saturday except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Inauguration Day.The Capitol Visitors Center offers visitor information, a video, outdoor walking tours, and exhibits. FREE

U.S. Mint’s New $1 Lincoln Coin
The coin features a portrait of Lincoln designed by Don Everhart with inscriptions “Abraham Lincoln”, “16th President”, “1861-1865″ and “In God We Trust.” The launch of the US Mint's new $1 Lincoln held at President Lincoln's Cottage on Nov. 18.

The White House
www.whitehouse.gov
At the time of the Civil War, the executive mansion was much smaller, and quite crowded with the Lincolns and their young family. Conditions were also much less sanitary. Sewage emptied onto the Ellipse, fueling diseases like smallpox and typhoid, which may well have claimed the life of Lincoln’s young son, Willie. The White House Visitors Center, located at 15th and E Sts. NW, sheds light on the building’s history and its role in the Civil War. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. (202) 456-7041. Touring the building requires advance arrangements. Visitors must contact their Congress member up to six months in advance to book timed tours. Tours are available Tuesday- Saturday from 7:30 am-12:30 pm, barring private events, for groups of ten or more. FREE

The Willard InterContinental Washington
www.washington.intercontinental.com
Few hotels in America can boasts a history as storied as the Willard InterContinental. In February 1861, members of Congress met here in an effort to avert the impending war. Amid countless assassination threats, Lincoln was smuggled into the hotel prior to his first inauguration. His hotel bill is on view in the history gallery. The Willard was a natural gathering place for both Union and Confederate sympathizers. Julia Ward Howe wrote the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” as she listened to Union troops singing “John Brown’s Body” as they marched below her window. John Wilkes Booth also frequented the Willard. Legend has it that Ulysses S. Grant coined the term “lobbyist” here,for the favor-seekers who bothered him as he savored cigars and brandy in the hotel lobby. One hundred years after Emancipation, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked on his "I Have a Dream" speech at this fine hotel. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. (202) 628-9100.