Common People in Uncommon Times:
The Civil War Experience in Tennessee
A Traveling Exhibition organized by Tennessee State Museum
In Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War
General Overview: Tennessee was a focal point of the Civil War. Geographically centered
between the Grain Belt of the Mid-West and the Cotton Belt of the Deep South, Tennessee was
destined to be the major battlefield, supply center, transportation hub, and invasion route for both
Union and Confederate armies. The war disrupted and impacted the people of Tennessee in ways
that are almost unimaginable. This exhibition focuses on individual Tennesseans and will
highlight the personal stories of common people surviving in the most trying and sometimes
most jubilant of times.
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Thematic Areas (subject to revision)
Section 1, Overview: A capsule history of the progression of the war in the Western Theater,
using a brief introductory video presentation to illustrate the movements, campaigns, and
subsequent occupation of Tennessee by Union and Confederate armies.
Section 2, Confederate leaders: Utilizing photographs, reproduced portraits, documents, and
small artifacts, will highlight the stories of several pro-Confederate leaders and follow them
through the war. Profiled leaders include Landon Carter Haynes, Felicia Grundy Porter, and
Isham Harris.
Section 3, Union leaders: Unionists were found throughout Tennessee and they have a story of
survival as a minority in a seceded state. Profiled figures include William Driver, Andrew
Johnson, and William Bowen Campbell, among others.
Section 4, African-Americans: Photographs and archival materials help highlight several
different African-Americans and their experience on the home front and the battle front. Profiled
individuals include Allen James Walker who escaped slavery and joined the 7th U.S. Heavy
Artillery; Samuel Lowry, a free black who returned to Nashville to serve as a chaplain, and
Laura Ann Cansler who worked to educate former slaves in Knoxville.
Section 5, Civilian home-front: The Tennessee home front, especially the rural areas, suffered
immensely during the war. Crops and farms were destroyed and livestock confiscated. Towns
and cities faced the uneasy and unfamiliar aspect of occupation by Union or Confederate armies.
All were impacted in some way. The exhibition explores the home-front through the stories of
people like John Fielder, a store keeper in Henderson County; Kate Carney a defiant
secessionists in Murfreesboro, and C.A. Haun a potter from Greene County.
Sections 6 (Confederate) and 7 (Union), Common Soldiers: Over 120,000 Tennesseans served
in the Confederate armed forces, and over 50,000 served in the Union. They fought in every
major battle east of the Mississippi River, from Gettysburg to New Orleans, and they formed the
backbone of the largest Confederate Army in the western theater, the Army of Tennessee. Their
stories are individual and varied, including boys from the mountains or from the Delta. Whether
aristocrats, farm boys, or former slaves they all experienced life in Civil War armies.
Section 8, War on the Water: Despite being a land-locked state, Tennessee provided several
key naval figures who careers impacted both the Union and Confederacy. Tennessee provided
naval personnel to both sides including Admiral David Farragut, the first full admiral in United
States history, and Confederate Captain Matthew Fontaine Maury, “the father of oceanography”.
Section 9, Reconstruction: Tennessee’s story was unique among former Confederate states in
regards to Reconstruction. The era has a dramatic impact on the lives of all Tennesseans.
Characters such as Reconstruction Governor William Brownlow, the fate of former Confederate
Colonel Henry Ashby, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan explain the turbulent times of
Reconstruction.
Section 10, Commemoration: Tennessee played an important role in the manner in which the
Civil War was remembered by post-war generations. Confederate Veteran magazine, United
Daughters of the Confederacy, and the United Confederate Veterans all had Tennessee ties. The
efforts of these groups along with the major Union veteran’s organization, the Grand Army of
the Republic, worked to preserve the memory of the war but also marked graves and battlefields
and built soldier’s homes for disabled soldiers. Mrs. Caroline Meriwether Goodlett, the founder
of the U.D.C., the Confederate Soldiers Home and the Union Soldiers Home at Mount Home are
stories which exemplify this section of the exhibition.
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Exhibition Details:
Common People in Uncommon Times consists of 10 freestanding “banner-up” panels which
address the topics outlined above. Additionally, the exhibition will include an introductory film
in a DVD format. A DVD player and monitor are available for those institutions without A/V
capabilities. Additionally, the exhibition includes two free standing cases for the accompanying
artifacts. The exhibition will be available in two formats depending on space, environmental
control, and security issues. Format A consists of panels, photographs, and low security
artifacts.
Format B consists of all of Format A, plus higher security, and more environmentally sensitive
artifacts.
Square footage requirements: The exhibition will be designed to comfortably fit into a space as
small as 450 square feet, with an optimal space requirement of approximately 500 square feet.
The exhibition can be configured for larger spaces.
Rental Fee: The reduced rental fees are underwritten by a generous donation from the Tennessee
Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. The rental fee for a six to eight week booking is as
follows: $500.00
Installation and Delivery: Installation and delivery is provided by Tennessee State Museum
staff and is included with the rental fee. Each venue is responsible for providing at least one staff
or volunteer of suitable physical capabilities to assist with the installation.
Availability: Available dates beginning in late fall 2011
Booking information: To schedule the exhibition contact Rex Weeks, Curator, at 615-253-0143
or by email at [email protected] . The exhibition will be scheduled on a first come, first serve
basis.
Other requirements: Scheduled venues must provide an American Association of Museums
Standard Facilities Report prior to delivery. Hosting venues must also provide a certificate of
creditable insurance prior to installation. Hosting venues must also provide at least one staff
member to assist with installation and deinstallation of the exhibition.
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