You have heard about the battles, but do you know how soldiers were medically treated from the North to the South?   You can explore that topic when you visit the “Civil War Medicine” exhibit at the St. Joseph Museum.  The exhibit was created to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War. 

Missouri was a state of divided loyalties.  In Buchanan County neighbors were often on opposing sides.  An estimated 1,600 to 2,000 men from the country went South to fight for the Confederacy, including M. Jeff Thompson, former mayor of St. Joseph.  Another 2,000 men from Buchanan County fought for the Union.  Fortunately, the St. Joseph Museum staff was able to use artifacts from both the North and the South to create a 1,100 square foot exhibit that focuses on the medical aspects of the Civil War era, from the wounds of war to the diseases that spread in the camps.  Funding for the exhibit was provided by Heartland Health of St. Joseph, Missouri, and the Missouri Humanities Council. 

“Thanks to three local families, you can follow the journeys of three men, - one doctor and two soldiers, as you tour this exhibit.  They left diaries and letters, which give us the ability to tell the story through their eyes,” said St. Joseph Museum Executive Director Jackie Lewin.  “In this exhibit, you are able to visit a field hospital as it would have appeared in the midst of battle and enter a replica of the typical soldiers’ tent.”