When I arrived in Springfield, Illinois, this past Friday, I picked up a copy of the weekly Illinois Times and saw that Saturday they were having the grand opening of the Camp Butler: A Civil War Story at the historic Elijah Iles House (Springfild's oldest home). This is located several blocks south of the Abraham Lincoln home.
I told the others at the Illinois Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans annual meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and headed over to it after the day's meeting was over (and after I stopped at Recycled Records for Record Store Day).
The exhibit is downstairs (very steep) and there were several re-enactors in Union garb as well as people who work and volunteer at the house and visitors.
I looked around. The walls are covered with a very detailed history/timeline of the camp. In the middle were various display cases about Civil War medicine, journalism and some people, including one named McElroy who was held prisoner at Andersonville and wrote a book about it and later ran for some sort of office (possibly GAR).
I will have to go back and take notes about the displays and timeline, but Liz was waiting in the car and I didn't want to take too much time in the place.
I talked with the older re-enactor.
More on That Tomorrow. --Old Secesh
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