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The Civil War Dance Foundation to Display the Guns of Gettysburg
April 6, 2019 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Free
Visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center will have an opportunity to see and learn about the original weapons used in the Civil War in the Guns of Gettysburg display on Saturday, April 6, 2019 and Saturday, May 25, 2019 in the Group Lobby from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The display, allowing close examination of the artifacts and light handling by visitors, will include:
- Pre-war weapons that were in the arsenals when the war began
- The U.S. Rifle-Musket series
- Imported arms
- Some of the new breechloaders used for the first time in the war
- Handguns and edged weapons.
Historians in period attire will explain the weapons and some of the new technology of the war, including various breechloaders, the Maynard tape and pellet priming systems, and pinfire and rimfire cartridges. The historians will also tell the story of the role of women and children in manufacturing ammunition and about the hundreds who died in accidents doing the dangerous work.
The display is being presented by the Civil War Dance Foundation (CWDF) as part of its educational outreach programming. The special exhibit of the Keener-Farley Traveling Arms Collection is part of the educational outreach programming of the CWDF. In addition to conducting Civil War balls, dance demonstrations and classes, the CWDF also presents military and civilian artifact displays and lectures on a variety of Civil War topics, as well as fundraising events for Gettysburg National Military Park.