Citizens and Soldiers Program Presents the Civil War from Different Perspectives
ATLANTA, GA – At Citizens and Soldiers learn what it was like during the Civil War from multiple perspectives – the soldiers on the field, the families on the home front, and the enslaved. Experience home front activities, encampments, reenactments, and demonstrations on our 1860s Smith Family Farm, and enjoy tours of our award-winning Civil War exhibition, Turning Point: The American Civil War.
WHAT: Citizens and Soldiers, annual Family Program
WHEN: Saturday, March 14, 2015; 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
WHERE: Atlanta History Center; 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA
INFORMATION: 404.814.4000; AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family
ADMISSION: Admission is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. Purchase advance admission tickets online AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.
SUPPORT: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Museum Activities
Civil War Medicine
Ongoing
Encounter a Civil War nurse caring for the wounded in a nearby field hospital. Watch her as she tends to the injured while sharing her experiences about the harsh reality of the war and see how women earned the opportunities to work in this brand new profession.
Soldier Experience
11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm
Take on the role of a real soldier who fought in the Civil War. As you are presented with various real-life scenarios, you must make vital decisions that could affect your life and well-being.
Tours of Confederate Odyssey
Noon and 2:00 pm
Join Senior Military Historian and Curator Gordon Jones for one last look at Atlanta History Center’s George W. Wray Civil War Collection before the exhibition closes. Confederate Odyssey showcases nearly two hundred extremely rare and one-of-a-kind artifacts that tell the story of how a pre-industrial Confederacy managed to sustain a modern industrial war for four long years.
Civil War Variety Show
12:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Experience the lighter side of the war as performers entertain guest in this 19thcentury show. From daring feats to musical ensembles, see how citizens and soldiers distracted themselves from the hardships of war.
Smith Family Farm Activities
Civil War Encampment
Ongoing
Visit with soldiers as the Civil War draws to a close. Learn about the conditions of the common infantryman while exploring a period encampment.
Simulated Bombproof
11:15 am, 12:15 pm, 1:15 pm, 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm
In the Civil War, families used their root cellars for preserving food as well as protection. Visit the Smith Family Farm cellar and imagine what it might have been like huddling for hours or days in a cramped, dark, dingy space as sounds of gun and cannon fire boom above you.
Mary Elizabeth Bowser, Meet the Past Performance
11:30 am, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm
Meet Union spy Mary Bowser and become a trusted confidant working for the estate of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Listen as Bowser shares her struggles of living a double life, as an educated free woman pretending to be an unassuming servant in order to capture vital information for Union forces.
Weapons Firing Demonstration
11:45 am, 1:45 pm, 3:45 pm
The Civil War rifled musket is an iconic weapon of the era. See how a company of soldiers would have loaded and fired the rifle during the Civil War.
Cast Iron Chef!
Noon and 2:30 pm
Three competitors are given a basket of ingredients, a sous-chef, and 30 minutes to create the tastiest dish possible using Civil War era substitutions. Participants must be 18 or older, and will be chosen at random. Those interested in participating should arrive at 11:45 am and/or 2:15 pm to enter the drawing.
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