Online content boosts new Civil War exhibit in Manassas

A new exhibit with instant online interaction has opened at The Manassas Museum.

An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia, an exhibit on loan from the Virginia Historical Society, will hang through Sept. 4 and will then circulate throughout Virginia. It arrived just in time for the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War commemorations last week, a news release said.

The exhibit uses panels to tell the story of the Civil War and its effect on the people of Virginia. Themes of the panels are Why War?; Speed or Strength?; The Confederate Interior; The Campaigns; Who Freed the Slaves?; Refugees; Men of Color to Arms?; The Confederate Frontier; The First Modern War?; and Did the Civil War End at Appomattox?.

An American Turning Point has a companion website designed specifically for use on mobile devices, a news release said. Accessible through a URL or QR-Code, the website includes videos, 360-degree renderings of original objects, and additional content to enrich the exhibit viewing experience. Those without mobile devices can access the web site at a later time.

The exhibit was a collaborative project of the Virginia Historical Society in partnership with The Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Admission to the An American Turning Point exhibit is included with regular admission to The Manassas Museum at 9101 Prince William Street, Old Town Manassas. The museum is open every day from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. through Labor Day.