St. Louis Genealogical Society

Civil War Tour is Tuesday, 07 May 2019; 9:00 am until 4:00 pm, departing from the Convention Center. Transportation, entry fees, and lunch included in the $70 fee.

The St. Louis Genealogical Society, local hosts for the 2019 NGS Family History Conference cordially invite you to join them in learning about the role that border-state Missouri played in the most contentious period of America’s history.

The Civil War Tour begins with a visit to White Haven, the home of Ulysses S and Julia Dent Grant. The Grant family lived here at various times before, during, and after the Civil War. From 1854 – 1859 Grant managed this 850-acre plantation for Julia’s father, who was the original owner of the property. Grant worked with the slaves that Colonel Dent owned until the end of the war.  In 1989 White Haven became part of the National Park Service. During our visit, a video about the site will be presented and tours of the Grants’ home and other buildings will be provided. A bookstore allows opportunity for further study.

At mid-day the tour stops at the St. Louis Genealogical Society offices where participants will enjoy lunch.

Following lunch the tour continues to the Civil War Museum opened in June 2013 as the premier Civil War museum in Missouri. It was formed to house memorabilia from both Union and Confederate forces. Because Missouri was a border state in the Civil War, families literally saw brothers battling brothers in this conflict. More than 500 of the museum’s 2,000 artifacts are displayed here. Presently the museum is compiling a massive database of every Missouri soldier who served in the Civil War. This database contains photographs, letters, pension records, military records and other documents pertaining to each soldier.

Several museum galleries at the Missouri Civil War Museum are dedicated to the history of Jefferson Barracks, the oldest operating U S military installation west of the Mississippi. This military base where the Civil War Museum is located served as a military hospital for both sides during the Civil War.  Dating from 1826, today the base houses the Army and Air National Guard. The Jefferson Barracks galleries of the Civil War Museum house uniforms, equipment and other memorabilia.

For more information on the Missouri Civil War Museum, visit their website at https://mcwm.org/

To register for the Civil War tour, click HERE. All registrations must be made by 19 April, but some tours are already sold out so register as soon as possible – you do not have to be a Conference Registrant to attend.

Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

Civil War Museum