Civil War Exhibit at History Museum Will Soon Close

The Cherokee County History Museum’s temporary exhibit, Cherokee Voices from the Civil War, will close early next month.

The exhibit, which focuses on life at home, on the battleground and from the African-American perspective during the war, will close Jan. 3, 2015.

The story of Cherokee County during the Civil War is told using quotes and first-hand accounts gleaned from original letters, court documents and publications. A cornerstone of the exhibit is the series of original letters sent from Pvt. John T. Beavers of the McAfee and Donaldson Guards to his family back in Macedonia.

Items on display include a surgical kit and doctor’s textbooks, and the original speech from 1861 as presented to the Cherokee Brown Riflemen from the Ladies of Canton as they marched off to war. Other items include a collection of military artifacts including bullets, shells, gun tools, an artillery bucket, a Confederate cutlass, a Union officer’s sword, rifles and bayonet.

Possessions from the soldiers such as canteens, belts, medals and stirrups will also be displayed; some of the artifacts were found near Pickett’s Mill and Allatoona Pass.

Residents who want to view the exhibit before it closes can do so 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The museum will be closed Dec. 24-25 and Jan. 1 for the Christmas and New Year holidays, however.

The Cherokee County History Museum is on the first floor of the Cherokee County Historic Courthouse at 100 North Street Suite 140 in Canton.

For more information, contact Stefanie Joyner at (770) 345-3288 or visit www.rockbarn.org.

Photo credit: Cherokee County History Museum