Traveling Heinz exhibit in Harmony
HARMONY — Though no fighting in the American Civil War took place in Western Pennsylvania, the region has deep ties to the conflict.
In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the war, the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh has assembled a traveling exhibit that explains the state’s role in the war. Since the war took place from 1861 to 1865, the sesquicentennial spans from 2011 to 2015.
That exhibit will be on display until Feb. 1 in Historic Harmony’s Stewart Hall.
Since 2012, the exhibit has visited about 30 museums in the western part of the state, said Brady Smith, Heniz History Center senior communications manager.
“The Civil War in Pennsylvania” features lifelike figures of people from the area who served and artifacts such as weapons and letters. It teaches about slavery, the roles of women, the Battle of Gettysburg and production of weapons in Pittsburgh which was called “The Arsenal of the Union.”
It will be supplemented by Historic Harmony’s own “The Civil War and the Harmony Area” exhibit, which includes information and artifacts about people from the Harmony area.
The biggest focus is telling the stories about some of the people who risked their lives to preserve the United States. Only New York contributed more soldiers than Pennsylvania to the Union army.
“Between the amount of soldiers, supplies and overall support, Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania had an indelible impact on the war and the Union winning the war,” Smith said.
The Harmony Museum gets the exhibit at no cost since it is a member of the history center’s affiliate program.
The Harmony Museum has some of its own Civil War-era artifacts, and members have even uncovered new ties to the area while doing research recently, said John Ruch, president of Historic Harmony.
“It’s an opportunity to show more artifacts and information than we have been able to show in the past. It came together well,” Ruch said.
The Harmony Museum has documentation showing that some of the grandchildren of the original Mennonites who settled in Harmony served in the Union army, despite the historically pacifistic stance of the church.
“Mennonites found themselves very conflicted about what to do on both the North and the South sides. Preserving the Union was important, so some fought despite the church being historically pacifistic,” Ruch said.
The museum also has a list of people from Butler County who were conscientious objectors.
Harmony Museum artifacts include a Model 1816 musket that was carried by Harmony blacksmith Frederick Weigel, who served in the Union army.
The traveling exhibit includes figures of important people from the region who served. These include Martin Delany, an abolitionist from Pittsburgh who became the highest ranking African-American Member of the Union Army and Strong Vincent, an attorney from Erie who was famous for his cry of “Don’t give an inch” at the battle on Little Round Top.
Dog Jack, a terrier who served in the war and was the subject of a film in 2010, was also from Western Pennsylvania and is featured.
On Saturday Jan. 10, the museum will host historical re-enactors from Slippery Rock University’s Old Stone House and will be open from 1 to 8 p.m.
After that the exhibit can be seen the museum’s regular hours: 1 to 4 p.m. every day except Monday.
