Civil War New York Subject Of New Exhibition

During the Civil War, New York was the wealthiest and most populous state on either side of the conflict. A new exhibition at the New York State Museum in Albany examines the important role New York played in preserving the Union.

"An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War" features more than two hundred artifacts, documents and images centering around the themes of Antebellum New York, the Civil War, and Reconstruction and Legacy. Artifacts on display include a Lincoln life mask from 1860, the earliest photograph of Frederick Douglass, and the only known portrait of Dred Scott. There's also a slave collar from c.1806 to point out the often-overlooked fact that slavery was once common in this northern state.

The exhibition examines various aspects of the war and home front and has a section dedicated to the Elmira Prison Camp, dubbed "Hellmira" by the Confederate soldiers interned there. Nearly 25 percent of them died from malnutrition, exposure and disease.

In a press release, the museum stated that the exhibition's title was inspired by an 1858 quote from then U.S. Senator William H. Seward, who disagreed with those who believed that the prospect of war between the North and South was the work of "fanatical agitators." He understood that the roots of conflict went far deeper, writing, "It is an irrepressible conflict, between opposing and enduring forces."

"An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War" starts today and runs until September 22, 2013.


[Photo of noncommissioned officers' mess of Co. D, 93d New York Infantry courtesy Library of Congress]

Filed under: History, Learning, North America, United States