The Museum of The Confederacy contains,
“the world’s most comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, and
photographs from the Confederate States of America”[i]
and aims to transport visitors “back in time”[ii]
through three exhibits: The Confederate
Years: The Southern Military in the Civil War, Between the Battles and The
War Comes Home. Perhaps because of its geographic location in downtown
Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, this museum’s omission of slavery is
designed to skirt political, racial and economic controversy.
As one
enters the museum, an elderly gentleman at the information desk provides
visitors with a quick overview of what exhibits are currently on display as
well as which floor they are located. This gentleman suggests that one should first
enter the exhibit The Confederate Years.
After viewing this exhibit, he indicates it is up to the visitor to precede either
upstairs to the exhibit Between the
Battles or to the bottom floor exhibit The
War Come Home. In this museum there is no clear route.
As a visitor
proceeds to the main floor exhibit The
Confederate Years, a large cannon greets them. Once past this cannon, the
purpose of this exhibit is posted: “The Confederate
Years is a year-by-year introduction to Confederate Military history . . .
as well as highlights artifacts, photographs and documents in The Museum of the Confederacy’s
permanent collections ”[iii] Upon
entrance to the exhibit, one encounters questions such as, “Why
Succession? Why War?” Then the step-by-step order of battles beings. The only
way one knows where to head to next is by looking at the dates of each battle.
There is no clear structure that encourages the museumgoer to go in any particular
direction because the showcases are plentiful. The overload of showcases could
leave a museumgoer puzzled. The showcases structures are also not only
repetitive in their structure but also in their organization of artifacts and clothing.
Also, each artifact is followed by a one-sentence description that offers
nothing more than the date and name of the artifact. This exhibit was mundane,
oversimplified, and confusing in structure – thus providing the visitor with
nothing more than a summed up version of the Civil War – with the notable
omission of slavery. 
As one
leaves The Confederate Years exhibit,
one then has the choice of which exhibit he or she will journey through next.
One option is to precede upstairs to the exhibit: Between the Battles. The purpose of this exhibit is to, “explore
the daily life of the Confederate Soldier when not in battle.”[iv]
This exhibit does not pose questions to guide museumgoers through the exhibit
but rather uses large red text markers to present subjects such as Infantry, Artillery,
and Field Music to attract the museumgoer’s attention. The organization of this
exhibit although unclear, is not confusing, but allows one to proceed from one
topic to the next depending on his or her interest. The variety of artifacts in
this exhibit seem to come alive, as they are not repetitive but rather personal
-- possibly making the museumgoer feel as if he or she can identify with the
soldiers. Whereas, in the previous exhibit, the visitor could feel as if every
battle, commander, and event is glossed over and devoid of any personal
connection. 
The exhibit The War Comes Home is located on the
bottom floor and addresses how the war affected those on the home front. This exhibit
is divided into three categories: The
Last Meeting of Lee & Jackson, The War Comes Home, and Knickknacks. The first section of this exhibit
features a large painting of Lee and Jackson followed by four brief
descriptions. Then one moves into The War
Comes Home section and is overwhelmed by all the artifacts descriptions.
This part of the exhibit seems to be unorganized and features everything from
paperwork on John LittleJohn, suing the government, to showcasing women’s
mourning clothing, children’s clothing, and educational books. This exhibits artifacts
seemed less authentic because these items were not solely specific to just the
war coming home. 
The final
section of this exhibit is comical – not only in its purpose but also in its
content. Knickknacks as stated in its
purpose features random artifacts from the Confederate years. However it seems
as if this exhibit is an afterthought to showcase artifacts such as prosthetic
arms, scrapbooks, and jewelry to fill an extra space. The exhibit has nothing
to do with the preceding exhibits other than that these artifacts are from the
same time period.
Upon
reflection about The Museum of the
Confederacy, I was disappointed in the lack of
varied artifacts and in the venues through which they were
featured. Not a single piece of technology was used to provide a voiceover or movie in order for the museum’s artifacts and purpose to come alive. Rather,
the museum used repetitive glass showcases to memorialize the Confederacy.
Also, the structure of the museum seemed misguided. For example, The Confederate Years exhibit, which
featured battles of the Confederacy, was the shortest exhibit and also most
cluttered. Whereas The Between the
Battles exhibit, with more space, left museumgoers at ease when perusing
the exhibit. This left me questioning which exhibit the museum deemed most
important? The Museum of the Confederacy also does not mention slavery — which is certainly a bland and
non-controversial approach. The exhibit I found most interesting and thought
provoking was Between The Battles.
This exhibit did a nice job not only spatially but also in the choice of
materials to showcase. All in all, The
Museum of the Confederacy did not provide a fair representation of the
Civil War nor detailed enough descriptions. It also did not have a clear
structure and left too much of the responsibly to learn about the Confederacy
with the museumgoer. I would suggest this museum invest more time and money into
not only the details of The Confederacy but also into technology so the visitor
is supported, interested, and guided through the museum.
i. The Museum of the Confederacy
ii. Ibid
iii. ibid
iv. ibid
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