A new exhibit at Swem Library explores the federal occupation of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown during the Civil War and the impact of the occupation on area residents.
The war-time experience differed greatly for local white residents, who were ever hopeful the Confederacy would win, and enslaved black residents, many of whom gained freedom during the occupation.
The exhibit is part of the library’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. It features letters, drawings, newspaper articles and other items including an 1863 letter written by John A. Dix threatening to release the patients at Eastern Lunatic Asylum; material from the Cavalier, a newspaper published by Union troops; and a telegram written by John Jacob Astor III.
The exhibit is located in the Nancy Marshall Gallery on the first floor of Swem Library and is on display through Aug. 1.