‘Seeing the elephant’ at Kenosha’s Civil War Museum
After the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, throwing the United States into its Civil War, more than a million men from the upper Midwest enlisted in the Union Army to squash the Confederacy’s attempt to permanently divide the nation.
These men’s stories are among those told at the Kenosha Civil War Museum. The Smithsonian-affiliated museum shares the tales from the soldiers, their families and civilians through the use of actual journals and letters from the era.
The exhibits are based on those writings, which were painstakingly transcribed. The American English used then was quite different than what we speak today.
The museum features items from the war that belonged to members of the Union army from the seven upper Midwestern states – Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The region made up about 49 percent of the Union’s estimated 2.1 million-member military.
Visitors to the museum have their emotions tested right away as they watch the movie, “Seeing the Elephant.” It was a term used during the 1861-65 war by soldiers itching to fight in a battle.
The term has been traced to a New England farmer in the 1700s. He had learned that a circus was going to visit a nearby town. He had longed to see an elephant. Who knows why? But, it was his goal. He hitched his horses to his wagon and off he went.
Along the way, he encountered the circus members marching in a parade, led by two elephants. He was excited. His horses, not so much. They were spooked and bucked, knocking over the wagon and the farmer. As the horses galloped away, the farmer stood up and dusted himself off. Someone asked him a question, which he replied, “I don’t give a hang. I have seen the elephant.” Then he walked off into history.
The movie, filmed at nearby Old World Wisconsin living history museum, looks at the war and its impact on three men and their families. The movie is played on a 360-degree screen. I felt like my head was on a swivel, as I turned often to catch the footage on each of the screen. The screen offers a unique way to view an interesting history film. You can feel the thud of bombs bursting under your feet. The theater is an impressive one. The film is the perfect complement to the theater.
The Union soldiers were eager to take on the Confederate army. They wanted to test their mettle against their brethren from the south. However, military service takes on many facets, some exciting, some boring. Soldiers grew weary of playing card games, such as poker, 21 or keno. They grew tired of reading their personal copies of the Bible and other books. They felt there was only so much marching and drills they could tolerate.
They wanted to see action. They wanted to aim their rifles across the field and put down the rebellion. That day came for many. The pops of gunfire, the thuds of bombs setting sail from cannons. They saw their action.
When the smoke cleared and the sounds of battle ceased, men lay on the battle ground, some lifeless, others maimed. A soldier wrote home “…I hope I never seen the elephant again.”
The museum’s approach to telling the story of the War Between the States is told differently than other museums we’ve visited. The Kenosha Civil War Museum examines the war and its effect on people. It doesn’t glorify war. It doesn’t dissuade people from war. It takes a realistic look at the impact the Civil War on people.
In the end, more than 600,000 Americans from both sides died during the Civil War. Another 300-400,000 soldiers were wounded.
For the wounded, the Civil War saw the most significant medical advancements in history, including the use of prosthetic limbs.
While the museum has a large section devoted to the military side of the Civil War, it also looks at civilian life. The exhibits the Civil War Museum uses are amazing. You can sit next to a person on a train ride, and the character will start talking to you, telling you their personal story. The use of animatronics is outstanding. You can visit with them later on a river boat, enjoying a new conversation.
As the war raged on, people back home went about their daily lives, which meant fields had to be farmed, city deliveries had to be made, etc.
As the war ended, soldiers came home. Veterans groups sprouted around the country to focus on helping the Civil War vets adjust to life and get them services they may need. They later sought political power to help ensure the government kept its promise to help the veterans following the war.
The Kenosha Civil War Museum also has an outstanding memorial to all of the United States’ major conflicts, dating from the Revolutionary War to the Persian Gulf.
The Kenosha Civil War Museum doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to looking at the war. It explores the impact battle has on the soldier, their family and society. It should be high on the list when visiting Kenosha.
For more information on the Kenosha Civil War Museum, please visit www.kenosha.org/wp-civilwar/.
Disclaimer: Thank you to the Kenosha Visitors Bureau and the Kenosha Civil War Museum for the complimentary visit. However, all opinions and views are ours.
