The Salem Museum explores a crucial period in American history with Civil War Saturdays in July, featuring living history, talks and films
Join the Salem Museum in an exploration of the American Civil War, a crucial period in our country’s history. On Saturdays in July, Union and Confederate re-enactors will stage living history encampments on the Museum’s grounds, providing demonstrations and answering visitors’ questions. In addition, lectures and film showings address the difficult questions the war raised over 150 years ago, some of which continue to trouble us today.
Admission is free for all events.
Saturday, July 8
- Union and Confederate Officer Re-enactors, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: officers and ladies of the Union (re-enactors from Gettysburg), and an officer and soldiers of the 51st Virginia Infantry Regiment.
- Film screening of Hunters Raid: Defending Hearth & Homeat 12:30 p.m. During the bloodiest summer of the Civil War, a Northern army was ordered to devastate the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Filmed on location, this three-time Emmy award-winning documentary tells the story of Hunter’s Raid through the voices of the men and women who lived it.
Saturday, July 15
- Confederate Artillery Re-enactors, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: the Botetourt Artillery.
- Talk by Dr. Robert Whisonant, at noon, speaking about the minerals found in Southwest Virginia and how these natural resources were used to aid the Confederacy.
SALEM MUSEUM SPEAKER SERIES: Monday, July 17, at 7 p.m.
- “William Mahone, the Most Influential Virginian Few Know About.” Mahone was an important railroad builder, Confederate general and post-Reconstruction era politician. Presented by Robert Freis.
Saturday, July 22
- Union and Confederate Infantry Re-enactors, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Film screening of Manassas, 1861at 12:30 p.m.
More information may be found on the Museum’s website: SalemMuseum.org
-Submitted by Fran Ferguson
