Opening Celebration: New Exhibit at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center

Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation are pleased to co-sponsor the new temporary exhibit in the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center. Titled A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier, the exhibit went on display in early July, 2022.

A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier features artifacts, documents and works of art from the collections of Gettysburg National Military Park and the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia, acquired by the Gettysburg Foundation. These objects – many related to Gettysburg – offer a window into the lives, experiences and memories of those who struggled, suffered and survived a century and a half ago.

The new temporary exhibit complements the galleries of the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War by exploring more deeply the experience of soldiers on both sides during the war. A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier highlights themes on the experience of being a Civil War soldier – how they became part of a larger army, how they lived, what they wore and how they fought. It covers more intimately what service meant to Civil War soldiers – and after the war – how soldiers were commemorated, how they remembered their comrades and how the war affected the way they remembered their experiences.

Located in the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center’s Gilder Lehrman Special Exhibits Gallery, the new temporary exhibit features some items never-before-seen on display by the public.

Admission to A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier is included with the purchase of Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience tickets or with the purchase of Museum Experience tickets. Tickets are available at the Ticket Counter in the main lobby of the Museum & Visitor Center, by phone at 877-874-2478 or online at GettysburgFoundation.org.