CIVIL WAR EXHIBIT OFFERS A LOOK  INTO THE PAST

            The Passaic County Historical Society has reached into its archives to present an extensive collection of Civil War artifacts assembled from material that spans over 80 years of donations from local families.  

            The new exhibit, “Honoring Passaic County’s Civil War Veterans,” commemorates the 150^th Anniversary of the Civil War.  It focuses on Passaic County Soldiers and Sailors who served in the War for the Union.  Among the impressive display of memorabilia are Civil War items which include historical clothing, decorative arts collections, official documents, Mathew Brady photographs, and a death mask of General Ulysses S. Grant.  Included in the exhibition is a Passaic County listing of all the names of the veterans who served in the War. Visitors will have an opportunity to look up the names of their Civil War ancestors.

            Among the parade uniforms on display are those worn by Colonel Andrew Derrom, Commander of the 25^th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, and William Ryle, a Paterson silk manufacturer, who served in the U.S. Navy.

            A highlight of the exhibit features a portrait of Lincoln on leather, along with a ribbon that mourns his death.  The ribbon was worn by Major Van Gieson thirty days after the assassination.  Also included is a photograph of Lincoln that is hand painted in oil believed to be one of the truest, most characteristic and lifelike pictures of Abraham Lincoln.  The original photograph was made only a short time before his assassination.  

The exhibit will open on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 and  will run through October 9.

Related Events.  

            To complement the exhibit, three related events have been scheduled. On Sunday, September 18, at 4 pm, S. Thomas Summers, author and educator, will present “New Jersey’s Civil War Odyssey,” featuring stories of New Jersey’s involvement in the war from the book of the same name.

               On September 25, at 4 pm,  “Discovering Your Community’s Civil War Heritage,” will be presented by Steven D. Glazer. The program is based on Glazer’s recent book of the same name, an official research manual published by the NJ Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee.

Captain Hugh C. Irish, pictured, is featured prominently in the exhibit.  A Paterson grocer who sold his store to enlist, he encouraged so many others to enlist that he was awarded the rank of Captain. He was killed at Antietam, the first to fall from his regiment. The Soldier's and Sailor's Monument in Eastside Park, Paterson, has a statue with his image.