The Blue and Gray and Black

Where Cannons Were Forged

Putting aside the debate over its approach, the museum presents an interesting visual narrative.

The setting, on the banks of the James River, is the historic Tredegar Iron Works Gun Foundry, built in 1840s. Here naval guns had been made for the Union; but after the war started, 1,100 cannons were built for the Confederate army, and at one point, half of the foundry's 2,500 workers were slaves.

"The city was ground zero for the Civil War," says the museum's Wise. Forty-three battles were fought within 30 miles of the city. For most of the war, Richmond was the Confederate capital. And Tredegar was the South's industrial jewel, the only factory that could build heavy cannons.

The $13.5 million museum sits within the thick brick walls of the historic building, which was outfitted with materials, such as graceful iron railings, that honor its industrial roots. "We acknowledge that the factory was at the cutting edge of its day," says Daniel B. Murphy, of Fairfax-based PRD Group, the exhibition designer.

The eight-acre museum campus on the Tredegar property is owned by the Ethyl Corp., and leased to the museum. Wise says the idea for the museum and the foundation grew out of his preservation work for the state. Most of the money came from private donations, though the museum got several state and federal grants.

Exhibits take up two floors, including a large mezzanine, and they tell part of the story on two-story banners that display the words of ordinary people who lived through the war's destruction. Encircling the first floor is a timeline, from 1775 to 1865, with an encyclopedia's worth of facts, including information about the home front and the lives of children. One of the goals is to "get a real sense of the scale of this huge, cataclysmic event," Wise says.

War Stories

The introductory film features three young people talking about what caused the war. Was it western expansion? Slavery? The economy? Or was it federal power vs. states' rights? Visitors have a chance to vote electronically, and Wise hopes this "becomes a teachable moment."

Another film is meant to put the visitor right in the middle of a horrific 100-day stretch in 1863, when all hell was breaking loose on all sides. There were bread riots in Richmond. There were draft riots in New York. Robert E. Lee, commander in chief of the Confederate army, won a tremendous victory at Chancellorsville, but lost Gen. Stonewall Jackson, who was mortally wounded. There were other crucial battles -- the enormous slaughter at Gettysburg, the siege at Vicksburg, which eventually gave the North control of the Mississippi.

One innovation used by the museum are giant maps with symbols marking political and military milestones for freedom, union and the home front. Below the maps are panels that explain how the events were interpreted from the African American, Union and Confederate perspective. This technique underscores how the museum is trying to deconstruct the story of the war, usually told in broad strokes focused on men and battles.

The Emancipation Proclamation is examined from several angles.

"Lincoln wanted three things. He wanted to undermine the Confederate labor source of slaves by putting the word out they were free. He hoped the people who would flee would then join the Union Army. And he wanted to keep the French and British, who were anti-slavery, out of the conflict and the proclamation would please them," says Wise. For some African Americans, this meant an opportunity to escape to the North and fight against slavery. Confederates were alarmed and felt the Union strategy explicitly aimed to undermine their way of life.

Object Lessons

The 150 objects on display were gathered from 30 different institutions, including the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, the world's largest storehouse of Confederate artifacts. It lent the cane of Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard, the leader at Fort Sumter, and a frock coat that belonged to Confederacy President Jefferson Davis.