Civilians and Home Front

Civilians on the home front were both directly affected by the war, and helped shape its outcome. They remained behind while their husbands, brothers, fathers, or masters marched off to war – but the war often came directly to them, sometimes within their very homes.

In Our Vaults:

While the Museum has long been known for its military collections, its civilian and home front collections are just as impressive. They constitute one of the world’s largest and most historically important collections of Southern antebellum, wartime, and postwar artifacts.

Items in the collection relating to civilians include:

• women, men, and children’s clothing and accessories (such as jewelry, shoes, and hats);
• slave-made items (such as baskets and homespun);
• medical and nursing equipment;
• furniture and other home furnishings (such as glassware and silver);
• quilts and other textiles (such as coverlets and napkins);
• toys and games;
• sewing and needlework tools;
• mourning accoutrements.