McCord Civil War exhibit spotlights Gettysburg

TheRegionalNews.com (Illinois): McCord Civil War exhibit spotlights Gettysburg
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War.

To mark the milestone, the Mc-Cord Gallery & Cultural Center in Palos Park will bring back its Abraham Lincoln and Civil War exhibit of rare, often never-before-seen artifacts.

“Gettsyburg, Lincoln and the Civil War in America,”  will be on exhibit from Thursday to Sunday, Feb. 24 through 27, at the McCord Gallery and Cultural Center, 9602 W Creek Road. It is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is $10 for McCord members and $12 for adults. Students and children under 18 are free. There will be musket demonstrations throughout the weekend.

The exhibit returns after a hiatus last year. Nearly 80 percent of the artifacts are on display for the first time at McCord, and in many cases, the state. The gallery will have an emphasis on the Battle of Gettysburg and Gen. George Armstrong Custer, both during the Civil War and the Battle of Little Bighorn.

“A lot of the items have stories behind them that are very interesting,” docent Dr. Joseph Matheu said. A shingle from the Appomattox Court House, where the Confederacy officially surrendered, is featured with a note from the judge authenticating it.

A special reception will be held both Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $50. There will be refreshments served and lectures presented by Dr. Ted Karamanski, professor of history at Loyola University. Guests will be able to handle selected weapons during the evening receptions and Abraham Lincoln will make a special guest appearance.

“These really are not to be missed,” Mayor John Mahoney said at the Village Council meeting on Monday. “To be able to see these items up close and personal, and the collections over the years, are quite outstanding, even for the Chicago area, let alone a little town like Palos Park.”

The McCord House will be filled with museum quality artifacts from private collections. Among the items on display are authentic uniforms, flags, swords, muskets, letters, slave shackles and an amputation kit. Docents will be on hand to discuss the significance of the items.

Matheu said many of the letters tell interesting stories and describe battles in detail such as Gettysburg, Antietam and the Battle of the Wilderness. Also on display is a six-page hand-written letter by Chief Joseph Red Fox, who was 7 years old when he witnessed the massacre at Little Bighorn. The letters will have highlighted passages of importance for those that do now want to read them in their entirety.

One of five uniforms with direct connections to Gettysburg will be one of the prized artifacts as well as the sword of Gen. George Meade, who led the Union army to a victory at Gettysburg. There is also a sword from Pickett’s Charge, the doomed assault ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

“It’s hard to find a relic from Pickett’s Charge,” Matheu said.

Plenty of artifacts are associated with Gen. Custer. There are items from the 7th Cavalry and a gun that was part of Custer’s personal collection that was used by his brother or cousin, Matheu said. The gun was brought in, covered in blood, by a Native American in Montana about three years after Little Bighorn. There are signatures from Sitting Bull and Rain in the Face, who is believed to have killed Tom Custer. There is a book signed by Libby Custer, the general’s wife, and fired and unfired shells from the battle that took Custer’s life.

“It’s a nice bridge to Custer’s final days at Little Big Horn,” Matheu said of the exhibit.

It would not be a Civil War exhibit without some Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, which had been featured in previous exhibits at McCord. Guests will be able to view a piece of blood-stained fabric from the dress of actress Laura Keene. She was performing a lead role in “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre the night Lincoln was shot. Keene was one of the first people to assist Lincoln after he was mortally wounded.

Roughly a half dozen pieces of fabric from Keene’s dress are in existence.

On display will also be part of the lace of the curtain pulled back while Lincoln was watching the play and wallpaper from the theater box as well as from his Springfield home when he worked as an attorney.

Information about the exhibit and how to purchase tickets for the evening receptions can be found online at mccordgallery org