Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia
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The Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia (formerly the Civil War Library and Museum) is located at 1805 Pine Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The museum was founded in 1888 by veteran officers of the Union Army, Navy and Marine Corps. It claims to be the oldest chartered American Civil War institution in the United States.
[edit] Collection
The museum contains the mounted head of "Old Baldy", the horse that was ridden by Union Major General George G. Meade during most of the Civil War. Old Baldy's head was mounted in 1882 and restored in 1991. It is displayed on a plaque in a glass case in the museum's Meade Room, under the care of the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table.
In addition to a large portrait and artifacts associated with General Meade, the museum includes personal items from other Union generals including Ulysses S. Grant, John F. Reynolds, and George B. McClellan.
The museum has on display a large collection of military escutcheons, which were made in the United States from the end of the Civil War until about 1907. They resemble a coat of arms and depict the military record of a veteran. Usually commissioned by the veteran or his family to memorialize his service, they were produced by an artist using chromolithography.
The museum's collection also includes items pertaining to Abraham Lincoln, including a cast of his hands, a lock of hair, and a death mask.
[edit] External links
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