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Everybody knows Civil War battles were not waged on Long Island. But that doesn’t mean that East Enders didn’t play a role when North and South clashed over slavery and secession. Now the Suffolk County Historical Society (SCHS) is putting the local experience up front in the exhibition, “Patriots Come Forward: Suffolk County’s Role in the Civil War.”
Displaying artifacts used by Long Island residents helps personalize and localize the Civil War experience, SCHS director Wally Broege said in a recent interview. Fought from 1861 to 1865, the Civil War is one of two important events that forged America, according to exhibition curator and military historian Dr. Richard F. Welch, the other being the American Revolution.
“Patriots Come Forward” depicts different aspects of life and attitudes among East Enders when the Civil War changed everything. Life on the home front and in the field both have their places in the exhibition. So do the prisoner of war camps and the roles communities and governments played in the war that pitted Americans against each other.
In the show, the predictable is accented by the unexpected. One display, for example, is devoted to dissent. Reproduced editorials portray the extremist opinions and experience of Henry A. Reeve, the publisher and editor of The Republican Watchman of Greenport. His outspoken attacks on the war and the Lincoln administration led to a brief incarceration in Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor, according to the accompanying text panels.
War recruitment efforts are portrayed through bounty posters offering bonuses that would be paid to volunteers. Each town and village was required to supply a quota of men, explained Dr. Welch. One poster advertised a bounty of $677 (with $475 down) paid to each volunteer with credit going to Southampton Town toward its quota.
The experience of prisoners of war is depicted in a series of letters. A window on hospital and medical
treatment is provided by a letter written by contractor doctor Jony Case. The reproduction was provided to the exhibition by the Shelter Island Historical Society.
The exhibition, which Mr. Broege said took around two years to put together, draws its power from the diversity of artifacts and different areas of life portrayed in the expansive show.
Artifacts came from private collectors, an antiques dealer, 10 historical societies and the Brookhaven Town Historian. About half the artifacts come from the SCHS collection, with the remainder coming from other sources. Contributors include historical societies from East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Shelter Island and Southampton.
Dr. Welch curated the show with help from SCHS exhibition and public program coordinator Kathryn Curran and further assistance from Mr. Broege.
In the out of the ordinary category, the exhibition puts on view items that are rarely seen by the public.
One highlight is a red Zouave uniform with fez and the unit’s unique saber bayonet Springfield rifle. The most unique uniform of the Civil War, the Zouave’s dashing style was borrowed from French colonial troops in Algeria. The uniform on view at the museum was worn by Benjamin Tyler Davis, who fought during the first two years of the Civil War.
Another highlight is a two-sided tent used by Henry W. Prince of Southold. Mr. Broege explained that finding two tent sides joined together was unusual. The government issued only one tent side per person, with the idea that soldiers would meet up in the field and combine their tent sides to create larger accommodations. The tent sides have side-by-side button holes and buttons allowing for different combination designs.
Another rare item is a brightly-colored recruiting poster for Duryee’s Zouaves. Equally rare is the pristine New York State Militia Pattern Sergeants uniform and kepi worn by military man John Mervin Osborn from 1846-1894, courtesy of the East Hampton Historical Society.
Other highlights include swords, rifles and firearms and a Congressional double-desk and two carved oak chairs used during three congresses spanning the six years from 1861-1867.
Flags carried and flown are on view, including a controversial flag dating to the Revolutionary War believed to have been made by Captain John Hulbert of Bridgehampton and considered by some to be the basis for the design of the first American flag after being seen by representatives of the Continental Congress, according to exhibition information.
The beauty of looking through the lens of the Suffolk County perspective is that history can be experienced through personal accounts instead of facts and dates laid on in broad strokes, said Dr. Welch. In this way, history truly comes to life. Mr. Broege said separately that history becomes even more interesting when people can discover what happened in their communities and others nearby.
Extended this week, “Patriots Come Forward: Suffolk County’s Role in the Civil War” will now remain on view through February 2010 at the Riverhead museum. Those wanting to delve deeper will have the chance during special exhibition programming.
On September 26, re-enactors will set up camp inside the museum for a “Living History Interpretation.” A Civil War symposium will be held on October 17. The all-day event features talks by professors, authors and curators focusing on Long Island’s participation and experience in the Civil War.
October 22 brings a lecturer from Long Island Society of Paranormal Research to talk about “Long Island’s Ghosts of the Civil War.” On October 8, a Tea and Talk will be held at 1 p.m. on “Poking Fun: Political Puns and Social Satire in the Genre Paintings of William Sidney Mount.” The $10 admission fee must be paid by October 1. William Sidney Mount (1807-1868) is an American portrait and genre painter from Setauket known for his rural images of Long Island.
“Patriots Come Forward: Suffolk County’s Role in the Civil War” is on view at the Suffolk County Historical Society, 300 West Main Street, Riverhead. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. For information, call 727-2881 or visit www.suffolkcountyhistoricalsociety.org.
on Sep 16, 2009