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Battles and Technology
Title: The Battle of the Wilderness
Overview: The battle of the Wilderness was fought in early May of 1864 in Spotsylvania. It was the first battle in Grant’s Overland Campaign against Lee with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Although the outcome was inconclusive, it was a turning point of the War.
Length: 1 hr.
Title: Cold Harbor 1862 versus Cold Harbor 1864: Two Different Wars?
Overview: There were two different battles fought on exactly the same ground two years apart. The leaders, the tactics, and the results were completely different. This discussion is a comparison of the two.
Length: 1 hr.
Title: Kriegspiel
Overview: “Strategy is the art of making war on a map.”
In the days before cellular communication and GPS, army commanders had to rely on good reconnaissance and written messages. In this nineteenth century-style wargame, participants will take the role of army and corps commanders and test their skills of strategic maneuver and communication as they recreate one of the great campaigns of the Civil War. The simulation will introduce the players to some of the difficulties of the “fog of war” where communication is not instantaneous and you never know exactly what the other army is doing. Do you have what it takes to go head to head with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, or push the Federals out of Kentucky? This program immerses participants in the nineteenth century art of war and is an excellent team building experience.
Length: 4 to 6 hrs.
Cost: $25.00 per person, lunch included.
Conditions: Kriegspiel has an 8 person minimum and a 16 person maximum.
Title: Medical Practices of the Civil War
Overview: Through the use of PowerPoint and reproduction 19th century medical equipment, this program will examine medical practices of the Civil War highlighting the causes of disease, the organization of the hospital system, the treatment of wounded soldiers, and the contributions of medical personnel. A mock amputation will be performed to demonstrate the most common surgery of the Civil War.
Length: 1 hr.
Title: From This Point of Observation . . .
Balloons and the Beginning of Aerial Reconnaissance in the American Civil War
Overview: This Power Point based program focuses on the creation of the U.S. Balloon Corps during the Civil War. It includes a basic history of early ballooning and the use of balloons for reconnaissance during the war, both Union and Confederate. Also discussed will be the ultimate failure of the Balloon Corps and the possible reasons for that failure as well as the continued 20th Century attempts to find military uses for lighter than air flight.
Length: 2 hrs.
Title: Infernal Machines
Overview: Although known as mines today, they were referred to as “infernal machines” during the Civil War. Learn how underwater mines or torpedoes were the most successful weapon the Confederates used against the Union Navy, sinking or damaging fifty-five of their ships.
Length: 45 min.
Title: The Dam(n) Trip
Overview: After the Battle of First Manassas, General Stonewall Jackson was given command of the Confederate Army in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Greatly outnumbered by the Union army in the Valley, Jackson began to look for ways to attack the Union Army and its support. His attention fell on Dam No. 5 on the C&O Canal. This program focuses on the Confederate Army’s exciting and often humorous attempts to destroy Dam No. 5 in December, 1861.
Length: 1 hr.
Title: Message in a Bottle
Overview: The MOC recently opened a 147-year-old bottle in its collections – only to find a secret coded message that had never been delivered. Learn what cryptology and the Siege of Vicksburg have to do with one another, in this exploration of a truly unique research project.
Length: 1 hour
Title: Mysteries Revealed: Current Uses of Science and Technology in the MOC’s Collections
Overview: Advances in science and technology are enabling the MOC to learn more about the objects in their collections than ever before. Discover what x-rays, bloodstain analysis, and radiation can tell you about Civil War history!
Length: 1 hour
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