Civil War festivities this weekend


Nicole Buschman, left, looks on as her son, Elijah Buschman, talks to a Civil War statue as the family visited the Capitol last Friday.
Nicole Buschman, left, looks on as her son, Elijah Buschman, talks to a Civil War statue as the family visited the Capitol last Friday.

Union and Confederate soldiers' uniforms, Civil War-era music, an infantry drill re-enactment and insightful programs about life and issues during the 1860s will fill the state Capitol on Saturday.

The history hall exhibit "Civil War Missouri: A House Dividing" officially will open at 9 a.m. Tuesday with an event in the Capitol Rotunda. Tuesday is the anniversary of Camp Jackson - the first armed conflict in Missouri after Fort Sumter.

But the Family Day hosted by the Missouri State Museum will provide a fun introduction to the exhibit as well as acknowledge the sesquicentennial.

Saturday activities will be 1-4 p.m. at the Capitol's south lawn, Rotunda and history hall.

A living history program called "Decisions," which focuses on the decision of secession, will be presented by ....