DIVIDED LOYALTIES – LIFE OF THE SOLDIER AND HOMEFRONT IN KNOXVILLE DURING THE CIVIL WAR

The Mabry-Hazen House Museum offers fee-based programming that meets Tennessee social studies curriculum standards. School groups up to 100 students are divided into groups of not more than 35 students and rotate through the museum stations. Depending on group size, stations can be presented simultaneously. The presentations are approximately 30-40 minutes in length.

LIFE OF THE SOLDIER

Goal: Educate students about the influence the Civil War had on the personal life of a soldier.

Experience the life of the common soldier through photographs, uniforms, music, weapons, and ordinary objects carried or worn by soldiers. Soldiers from both armies occupied Mabry's Hill, placing students on the ground where men from throughout the nation endured the hardships and routines of military life.

Costumed interpreters teach students how average citizens from the North and South learned to be soldiers, as well as the ways that life in the military affected their daily lives. Stations on camp life, drill, and music are available for experiencing life from the view of blue and grey soldiers. Interpreters also discuss Knoxville’s role in the Civil War and the ways men brought their cultural, social, and political beliefs to the battle lines.

HOMEFRONT

Goal: Educate students about the ways the Civil War deeply affected the personal lives of men, women, children, communities, and southern industry.

Docents and costumed interpreters lead students through a tour of Mabry-Hazen House to explore the material culture of Knoxville families and the customs and practices that dictated private life in a Victorian home. Students learn about the history and function of calling cards and create their own cards to take home. “General” Joseph Mabry’s role in the war and the unique culture and politics of East Tennessee illustrate the difficult choices and decisions taken by Southerners everywhere, providing insight into how diverse groups of Southerners lived, worked, and interacted with one another. As president of a local railroad, Mabry also influenced the region's industrialization and technological developments. Students learn about the gender roles of women in nineteenth-century America and the “cult of domesticity” that prescribed their behavior and beliefs.