Museum pays tribute to chaplains

National Civil War Chaplains Museum opens for first time at new location

Liberty University houses the only museum in the United States honoring the chaplains of the Civil War, giving visitors another view into the War of Secession. This library of artifacts and relics recently received a new location, though still within the campus of Liberty University.

The Civil War Chaplains Museum relocated from its original home next to Doc’s Diner to the stand-alone building next to the Hancock Welcome Center Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014.

The very first location of the museum was a room in DeMoss Hall. The museum was able to expand its resources once it moved alongside Doc’s Diner, providing a deeper look into this unexplored side of the war. However, the location did not provide the business that the developing museum had hoped it would.

“While we had a fantastic facility over next to Doc’s Diner, we did not have the foot traffic that we had hoped for,” Kenny Rowlette, Director of the National Civil War Chaplains Museum, said. “Part of this is that Doc’s Diner turned more into a student hangout than a community restaurant. Hence, most of those who came over there were students, not members of the community or visitors from out of town.”

According to a News and Advance article, the Civil War Chaplains Museum was founded in 2005 to remember approximately 3,700 chaplains on both sides of the war. Many of these chaplains then served in hospital or post-war situations.

“The role of Civil War chaplains has been so grossly underestimated, if not ignored, as to be one of the great sadnesses of Civil War history,” James Robertson, distinguished professor of history at Virginia Tech, said in a Liberty news article.

The Civil War Chaplains Museum intends to memorialize the ministers of the Civil War and bring their stories to light, allowing visitors to look into the lives of these selfless servants.

Collecting artifacts from the Civil War is no easy task, and Rowlette attributed much of it to the National Civil War Chaplains Museum Board of Trustees.

“We have three members of our Board of Trustees — Chaplain Alan Farley, Rusty Hicks and Charles Hollingsworth — who are experts on Civil War memorabilia and keep their eyes out for items that would be good for our museum,” Rowlette said.

“Also, sometimes people come to us with items they want to sell or give to us.”

Some artifacts that have been collected by the museum include Bibles from that era, as well as photos taken of chaplains ministering to the battle-weary soldiers fighting for their own convictions in-between clashes fought on hills and plains throughout this region.

In 2012, the Civil War Chaplains Museum acquired a rare journal written by a delegate in the U.S. Christian Commission. His writings have provided insight into how several events within the last month of the Civil War unfolded.

While there are a handful of Civil War museums found throughout the nation, not many take great pains in documenting the stories of chaplains. Rowlette explained that there are no other museums like this one tasked with documenting the adventures of chaplains from all faiths.

With the new location of the museum in the middle of campus, students will be able to expand their understanding of both the Civil War and the chaplains who provided spiritual and physical support to the soldiers fighting on both sides of the war.

“(S)ince the Civil War is clearly the most important event in American history other than the founding of the country, (the museum) also helps our students and the public understand the complex causes of the war, how the war affected both soldiers and civilians,” Rowlette said. “Given Liberty’s founder, who was a history buff, and the religious focus of the school, having the museum here is simply a natural fit.”

The National Civil War Chaplains Museum can be visited during the hours of 10 a.m. -4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Saturday hours are from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.