What do Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, ironclads, and cats have in common?? The Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum in Gettysburg!
In the Copse of Trees during Pickett’s Charge.
Our handmade miniature soldiers give you 3-D snap-shots of the American Civil War. Get a bird’s-eye view of a battle or get down to eye-level and see what a soldier would have seen: soldiers, horses, cannons, and places. They are all made with a one-to-one ratio, so each model soldier represents one soldier during the real battle, not ten or twenty. And since our dioramas are made to scale, if the hill looks really big to climb under rifle fire, that’s because it was!
So why is our name Civil War Tails? It’s not a typo. We have always loved cats, so when we made our first clay soldiers at age 11, they were cats. In uniform. With beards. Now, years later, we still think the cat angle is quirky and fun, and we hope you’ll agree.
The 15th Alabama faces the 20th Maine on Little Round Top
But this is real history with a fun twist. As you look at our 3-D rendition of each event and learn the stories behind the dioramas, think about the individuals behind the cats. Think about how they fought for what they believed and how their sacrifice ensured that we would have the rights and the great nation we enjoy now. This museum is meant to honor their memory by keeping it alive.
One of the guns from Hazlett’s battery on Little Round Top
If you are looking for something to do with the kids, Civil War Tails is a great stop on your Gettysburg journey. If you are new to Gettysburg, come in for an introduction to the battle and its context in the war. If you have been to Gettysburg a hundred times, come see it in a new way and dig deeper into its stories.
As you plan your visit, please check out our Hours & Info page. We are open until 8 p.m., so if you are wondering what to do in the evening, stop on by!
Can’t make it to Gettysburg? Pick up our book, Civil War Tails: 8,000 Cat Soldiers Tell the Panoramic Story! Published by Stackpole Books and available on Amazon and Kindle, this book tells the history of our cats and the historical events and individuals that inspired the dioramas!
See you soon at Civil War Tails!
Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum - Gettysburg miniatures 