| The Civil War Years 1861-1865 |
Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865
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| Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 |
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| Lincoln Life Mask 1865 |
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| On the left, is a life mask of Abraham Lincoln's head, originally molded on February 11th, 1865, by the well-known sculptor, Clark Mills. Lincoln was 56 years old at the time and told friends that sitting for the life mask was like being buried alive. Two months and three days later,
the Sixteenth President of the United States would be assassinated while attending the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre. The original mold is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. (The mask on the left was made from that mold.)
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Assassin John Wilkes Booth, May 10, 1838-April 26th, 1865
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| Click Image For Details |
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| Booth's Derringer, Currently on display at Ford's Theatre, DC |
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| Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett |
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| Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett, the union soldier who shot and killed John Wilkes Booth on April 26th, 1865. Corbett, who was born in London, shot Booth through a crack in the barn in which Booth was hiding. Using his Colt Revolver, he shot Booth in the neck, severing his spinal cord.
(Click on Corbett's photo at left for more information.)
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| George Armstrong Custer holding his 1860 Colt, May 1862 |
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Above are two guns, the first being a Colt Army Model 1860. The Colt .44 was one of the most widely-used revolvers of the Civil War. It was said that "God" made man, but that the Colt made men equal. The second is a rough "Trench Art" replica of the Colt .44, hand carved by Private "Jigs" Johnson during a lull in the fighting during World War l.
Below is a 1830s Allen & Thurber Six Shot Pepper Box Revolver. The Pepper Box was the first American revolver....and outsold Colt prior to the Civil War. Both the Colt and the Pepper Box were Muzzle Loaders.
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$10.00 Missouri Bearer Bond #16577, Dated Jan. 1st, 1862 and signed by M. Shield.
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| Gen. Robert E Lee |
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| General Robert E. Lee Oct.12th, 1870 |
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General Robert E. Lee's death mask, made shortly after his death, October 12th, 1870
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| John Harrison Surratt jr. |
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Double barrel Pinfire Derringer carried by John H. Surratt Jr. as he fled North from Washington to Montreal Canada after the "Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln". Surratt was a friend of John Wilkes Booth, and the oldest son of Mary Surratt. Mary Surratt was hanged on the 7th of July, 1865 for her "part" in the conspiracy to kill the President. John Surratt Jr. later surrendered and was put on trial for his "part" in the conspiracy, only to be acquitted on the same evidence that was used to hang his mother.
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| Mary Surratt 1823-1865 |
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| Mary Surratt's Hanging July 1865 |
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Jefferson Davis 1808-1889
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| Jefferon Davis |
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Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor and Senator from Mississippi signed Free Frank to Miss M. Hutzel in the Law Office of Judge Selden of Rochester New York. Judge Selden's home in Richmond Virginia later became the "Southern White House" where President Jefferson Davis lived during the Civil War. (footnote to history) Jefferson Davis served as Secretary of War, 1853-1857, under President Franklin Pierce, where he was in charge of rebuilding the army that would later crush his confederate insurgency)
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Alexander H. Stephens 1812-1883
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| Alexander H. Stephens CS V.Pres. |
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Confederate Vice President, Alexander Stephens' signed Free Franked envelope addressed to his sister, Mary Stephens in Crawfordville, Georgia as Vice President in 1863. "Little Aleck" Stephens suffered all his life from illness and disease and never weighed more than 96 pounds.
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Civil war era "Tin Ear", an early hearing aid used by diminutive "Little Aleck" Stephens,
confederate Vice President and Governor of Georgia.
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| Col. Patrick R. Guiney 1835-1877 |
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Black walnut snuff box with Shamrock Inlay, carried into battle by Col. Patrick Robert Guiney as commander of the "Fighting 9th", The Boston all Irish Volunteer Infantry. Col. Guiney was shot in his left eye on May 5th, 1864, the first day of the "Wilderness". He survived the war but eventually died of his wounds in 1877. In 1865, President Andrew Johnson promoted Guiney to Brigadier General.
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| Civil War Amputated Body Parts |
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Civil War Surgical Amputation Saw. Saws like this were common along the front lines. Many a soldier lost an arm or a leg to one of these saws after being shot. It was simply easier and quicker for a surgeon to amputate... rather than trying to dig out a bullet and treat an injured soldier amidst the turmoil of the battle field.
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| Civil War Era Wooden Leg |
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| Civil War era wooden leg. Artificial arms and legs like the one on the left were a continuing staple in Harper's Weekly Magazine during the early years following the Civil War. Most were eventually buried with their owners. This one found its way to our museum.
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| Embalming A Dead Union Soldier |
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| Lincoln at the "Front" |
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Signed Certificate of Non-liability for George Plummer of Milton New Hampshire, dated September 23, 1863. In other words, Mr. Plummer paid someone else to take his place in the "Draft". Most of the "substitutes" were new arrivals in America. Immigrant Irishmen were paid as little as twenty dollars to be "substitute soldiers" during the Civil War.
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