national museum of the civil war soldier

Every book or discussion of the Civil War talks about the Union Army moving up the Peninsula, the Confederates building 37 miles of earthworks from Petersburg to Richmond, and mentions the thousands of casualties on each side. It's always the "big picture".This little-known museum sets out to bring it "up close and personal", focusing on the individual soldier, be he Yank or Rebel. How and why he joined; what training (or lack thereof) he received; how he lived; the wounds and illnesses he suffered and how he was treated; the weapons he used; the the boredom and the fear. Little is said about the generals.It brought an entirely new perspective to the war for us, especially living in Virginia where much of the war was fought and many died.Our guide Jeff was truly an expert .... knowledgeable and friendly .... willing to answer any and all questions.This museum is off the beaten path, but it is well worth while planning a day trip to Petersburg and this attraction. Plan on several hours to tour the exhiibits and walk the battlefields, visit the plantation, and view the demonstrations.

Didn't dislike anything. Great presentation about all aspects of camp life. Audio tour was terrific. Some interactive features that added to the overall presentation.

We did not spend 3 hours and felt like we saw everything we wanted in a couple of hours. However if you wished to hike through the battle field or listen to more audio tour you certainly could spend as much of the day as you wished and just learn more. The two museums are clean and technologically current. They have some great full size dioramas and exterior exhibits. Come dress for outdoor weather as well as indoor comfort. This museum has a tremendous amount of audio headset narration and an interesting twist of being able to choose a soldier before hand to hear from in four different areas of the museum. One issue is that there is minimal signage so if you have difficulty hearing through headphones I am not sure if the visit would be worth much. Cost for us was 12.50 per adult and audio is included. They have an average amount of artifacts and they do educational tours for schools etc. Three battlefield trails recommend walking times of up to 1.5 hours.

What a great experience. Many interactive things to do such as you pick a soldier (one that was really in the war) of your choice and then follow his progress in the war on a headset. It will tell you about the battles he was in, his thoughts on the war, letters he wrote to loved ones back home. Finally, you will find out if he survives or not. As that unfolds you will see displays that tells exactly what soldier life was like. One of my favorite things was a room where you enter and hear soldiers all around you talking as they go into battle. Then you feel a bullet whiz past your head and you feel the breeze, you hear cannons going off and feel the earth rumble at your feet. It was an amazing feeling. Also lots of artifacts and pictures to see along with various films. Great for the civil war buff or anyone who appreciates history. Well worth the price of admission.

Worth repeated visits. Authentic, detailed, realistic, educational, richly presented. Probably the best museum of the Civil War in the nation. Don't miss it.

This visit is a must for anyone interested in history or simply interested in humanity. Extremely we'll presented in a way that is very real. The walk through the earthworks, scene of the breakthrough which led to the end of the civil war is quite disturbing to anyone with imagination, especially if. As we were, you are lucky enough to be alone.

We stopped on our way to Charlotte. The park is convenient to Interstate 85, and is open year-round. I recommend no less than a half day and wear good walking shoes! The Pamplin Foundation owns and operates Pamplin Historical Park, so there is a fee to get into the site. They do give AAA discount, but considering the information they have to share, it is worth it. It was a very off season day, with beautiful weather. There were only a few cars and one tour bus in the parking lot - almost had the place to ourselves. As soon as we walked into the main building and saw the map on the floor, with the states color coded by division (Union, Confederate, Border States, and Territories) we were impressed. Included in your admission is a headset that enables you to hear a narrative regarding various areas throughout your tour. The Historical Park and Museum complex really comprises three museums into one: a interactive indoor facility with showcase exhibits; a living history area (working plantation), a reconstructed field fortification, and a military camp; and the actual battlefield and separate museum devoted to the Federal breach of the Petersburg defenses. Each area was designed to give the visitor a first-person and hands-on perspective of military and civilian life in the period of 1861-1865. The living history area serves as a glimpse into both the military and civilian life during the 1860s. The plantation house, the fields of crops, and the slave quarters give the visitor a glimpse of the civilian life in the southern states, while the military camp and fieldworks show both the innovations and shortcomings of waging war during that period of our history. The third area is the actual battle that was fought on the site - the breach of the Boydton Line that made the Confederate defense of Petersburg untenable. A separate museum is devoted to multimedia displays and relics that illustrate the battle, and regular tours of the surviving earthworks let the visitor walk the same path that the Vermont Brigade used to breach the Confederate lines. You may even encounter park historians in various parts of the Historical Park and Museum complex, wearing reproduction clothing and engage in historically accurate activities. We found the historian did a good job of immersing the visitor in the moment. Allow at least 4 hours to see the site. You could easily spend an entire day seeing everything.

As a Brit I'm not terribly well informed about the Civil War but this museum really brought the whole experience to life, we only really chanced across it as I was searching through Trip Advisor for something to do in the Richmond/Petersburg area where we were staying for the night. We were only able to spend about 3 hours at the museum but through the audio tour and more importantly the staff we really gained an insight into what life was like for the soldiers and how the battles were fought, the actual trenches still exist and they have reconstructed other areas to show exactly how it would have looked. The old plantation house was also interesting and the audio tour really added to the experience as well as the AV presentations and exhibits across the whole museum, we could easily have spent another 2 to 3 hours on site but we'd arrived too late.

Great site that is located on an old platation that was occupied by Confederate Soldiers during the Civil War. Lots of demos with posted time schedule. It takes several hours to see, visit, and hear everything and involves walking but most walking routes are wheelchair accessible involving walking on small pea gravel.

If Civil War history is part of your enjoyment. then you have vist this museum and all the local museums whether priviate or NP in the area. I have lived here several months and I enjoy my weekends visiting the sites. I have travel this area during my yearly vacations for the past 30 years, but now I live here.

Has to be one of the best historical sites we have visited.The museum is full of artifacts and has an awesome audio tour included in the price of admission We would highly recommend this as a stop if you are a Civil War Buff or are just into the history of our country.

Beatifully done, very authentic with real items from the civil war, opposite the ole plantation and plenty of info from the guides.

I reviewed this museum as part of the Pamplin Historical Park of which it is the centerpiece. Its a very modern museum with dioramas and interactive exhibits and you choose a northern or southern soldier to "follow" through the museum, listening to his story. It was well worth the $12 entry fee.Although there were many elementary school children going through the day we were there, I would think that 5th or 6th graders traveling with families would be the youngest to appreciate the museum itself. The kids were most interested in the outside reconstructions of the battle sites and camps and the reenactments by costumed docents.