Milton House Museum and Company K, 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Association expect 1,200 students who represent home schooling, private schools and public schools to attend Civil War Living History Day on May 19. Advance registration was required for the May 19 event for students, which is already filled to capacity, but all community members can attend a similar event on May 20 and 21.
Highlights of 2023’s expanded Living History Day for students include:
· The opportunity to interact with re-enactors representing President Lincoln, Company K Civil War soldiers, and community members in selected occupations.
· New re-enactors who represent the United States Colored Troops that served during the Civil War and Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
· 23 learning stations aimed at helping students understand different aspects of living in the 1860s, ranging from how people dressed to medical care for wounded soldiers.
· The opportunity to march in a Civil War brigade-sized parade when all participants gather at roughly 11:30 a.m. on Storrs Lake Road. The march is expected to give participants the sense of the size and sounds of a brigade on the move.
Many of these activities continue during the free and family-friendly community event on May 20 and 21. New additions in 2023 also include the ability to buy a raffle ticket that enables the winner to fire a cannon shot (participants must sign a liability waiver and be willing to follow safety instructions).
In addition, people can purchase online tickets for events with limited capacity, including a special Twilight Tour: Civil War Edition from 6 to 9 p.m. on May 20 at Milton House Museum.
Food trucks, non-alcoholic beverages and picnic tables are available on the grounds.
Details and a full schedule are available on the Milton House website (www.miltonhouse.org).
The Milton Historical Society owns and operates the Milton House Museum as a historic house museum. Built as a stagecoach inn by Joseph Goodrich, founder of the town of Milton, the building’s unique hexagonal design has made it an icon of the Milton community for more than 175 years. The Milton House Museum is a National Historic Landmark and the only certified Underground Railroad site in Wisconsin that is open to the public. Guests are encouraged to take a tour of the building, including walking in the underground passage used by Joseph Goodrich to move freedom seekers between the inn and the pioneer cabin behind it.