HAMPTON — The touring exhibition, Civil War Journey: The Maps and Sketches of Private Robert Sneden, organized by the Virginia Museum of History and Culture will open to the public at the Hampton History Museum on Oct. 6.
The exhibit provides a unique and mesmerizing perspective on the Civil War, all from the point of view of Robert Knox Sneden, a Union Soldier and cartographer who became a confederate prisoner of war.
According to the museum, Sneden’s eyewitness accounts and images from his memoir will be featured in the exhibition that includes 45 of his watercolor maps and drawings.
The items that are part of the exhibit make up a fraction of the entire Sneden collection, made up of a 5,000-page memoir and 1,000 watercolors.
It’s believed to be one of the largest collections of Civil War soldier art ever produced and several watercolors are the only known depictions of lesser-known locations and events.
Sneden’s collection is the basis for two bestselling books, Eye of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey (Free Press, 2000) and Images from the Storm (Free Press, 2001).
Additional information about the entire collection can be found in the Guide to the Robert Knox Sneden Diary, 1861–1865.
Civil War Journey: The Maps and Sketches of Private Robert Sneden continues through April 22, 2019.
