Texas Civil War Museum - Part I - Soldiers and Civilians

On my recent vacation I had an opportunity to stop at the Texas Civil War Museum (website here) outside of Fort Worth on our way up I-45 and I-35 to Oklahoma City.

According to the Museum website:

The Texas Civil War Museum opened in January of 2006. With over 15,000 square feet of exhibits, it is the largest Civil War museum west of the Mississippi River. The Civil War Museum is privately owned and founded. The museum gallery is shared with exhibits on loan from the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Texas Division. The museum consists of three separate galleries that display a civil war collection, Victorian dress collection and United Daughters of the Confederacy Texas Confederate collection.

I am going to post photos of some of their collection over the next few days and will end with my opinion on the Museum overall.

Part I - Soldier and Civilian Displays
Part II - Flags
Part III - Ordnance, Navy, and Medical
Part IV - Summary and Opinion

The "Part I" photos below are from the first and final galleries in the Museum...upon entering the Museum one sees an array of artifacts from Union and Confederate soldiers...the Union artifacts on the north wall and the Confederate artifacts on the south wall.

Before exiting the Museum, one sees the Victorian Dress collection.

As it turns out, the bulk of both collection belong to the Richey family; per the Museum website:

The Ray Richey Civil War Collection: With over 3,000 items, this private collection brings a broad view of the period through its extensive collection of Northern and Southern Artifacts. From Infantry to Cavalry, and from Artillery to Navy, each gallery gives a detailed view of the War Between the States. Wings of the gallery showcase certain aspects of the war including the Medical branch and Musical instruments. Ray Richey's collection is considered on of the largest private Civil War collections in the world.

The Judy Richey Victorian Dress Collection: This private collection is an expansive look at original women's and children's clothing from the Victorian Era. With over 250 Victorian dresses and hundreds of accessories, the museum exhibits rotate to include 1860 - 1900 attire.

Below are photos of:

Display of Union soldier accoutrement
Closeup of religious tracts and Bibles carried by Union soldiers
Chess set that belonged to Col. D. A. Murray, 3rd Ohio Infantry
Campaign Field Chest Used by Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles
Union field desk vignette
Confederate field desk vignette
Musical instrument collection
Uniforms and firearms
Closeup of Drum
Victorian Dress Collection

Enjoy!