What do Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, ironclads, and cats have in common?? The Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum! Check it out!

Our museum is full of dioramas we made by hand so you can see a 3-D snap-shot from the 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. See the soldiers, the horses, the cannons, and the places. They’re all made with a one-to-one ratio, so each soldier on one of our dioramas represents one soldier during the real battle, not ten or twenty. And since they’re made to scale, if the hill looks really big to climb under rifle fire, that’s because it was!

And I’ll bet you’re wondering why our name is Civil War Tails. It’s not a typo. We started making soldiers when we were 11 years old and we have always loved cats, so the first soldiers were cats. In uniform. With beards. Now, years later, we still think that’s quirky and fun, and we hope you’ll agree.

But you don’t have to notice the tails to learn the history! Come see the smoky desperation in Fort Sumter during the bombardment that started the war. See how tattered Pickett’s Charge was by the time the Confederates struggled across the stone wall at the Angle at Gettysburg. Appreciate just how big and rocky Little Round Top was as the Confederates climbed it. Glimpse the suffering of Union POWs at Andersonville Prison (our great-great-grandfather’s step-brother, Pvt. Luke Brown of the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry, is portrayed on that diorama!).

Sure, the cat angle is fun, but we want you to learn about the men and women behind the cats. As you look at our 3-D rendition of what they experienced, think about how they fought for what they believed in, 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.

So come learn with us—and then find your own way to keep history alive!

We hope you enjoy your visit at Civil War Tails!