The Lombard Historical Society will open its newest exhibition, Camp Douglas and the Civil War at Home, on Saturday, June 6, during Civil War Days: Living History at the Homestead at the Sheldon Peck Homestead. The exhibition will run through Nov. 28.
Presented in conjunction with a traveling exhibit on loan from the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation, the exhibition explores the story of Camp Douglas, one of the most significant Civil War sites in Illinois. Located on Chicago’s South Side, Camp Douglas served first as a training ground for Union soldiers and later as a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate soldiers. Although little physical evidence of the camp remains today, its history continues to shape our understanding of the Civil War in Chicago and the nation.
At the Sheldon Peck Homestead, the story of Camp Douglas is connected to local people and places. Visitors will learn about General Benjamin Sweet, who commanded Camp Douglas and later helped shape early Lombard; Ada Celeste Sweet, a pioneering federal official and reformer; Sanford Peck, son of Sheldon and Harriet Peck, who served in the Union Army; and men from Babcock’s Grove who answered the call to serve.
The exhibit opens as part of Civil War Days: Living History at the Homestead, a free public event held from noon-4 p.m. Living history interpreters will bring the 1860s to life through demonstrations and conversations about military and civilian life during the Civil War era.
As the nation approaches America 250, this exhibition invites visitors to consider the power of place and the ways national history is remembered through local stories.
For more information or to register, visit lombardhistory.org. To learn more or apply, visit www.lombardhistory.org or contact director@lombardhistory.org.
About the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation
The Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation works to preserve and share the history of Camp Douglas, Chicago’s major Civil War military site. Camp Douglas served as a training camp for Union soldiers and later as a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate soldiers. Although it was once the largest military installation in Illinois, little physical evidence of the camp remains today.
Because the Foundation does not have a brick-and-mortar museum, it brings this history to the public through research, education, public programs, and traveling exhibits. Its mission is to provide leadership in developing, preserving, and sharing accurate historical information about the Civil War in the Upper Midwest, especially Illinois and Chicago.
The traveling exhibit on view at the Sheldon Peck Homestead is part of the Foundation’s effort to raise awareness of Camp Douglas and its importance to the Civil War, the history of Chicago, and the state of Illinois. Through maps, photographs, text, and interpretive banners, the exhibit helps visitors understand a significant place whose physical traces have nearly disappeared.
