Skirmish at Island Mound is the second movement of an original symphony created and composed by Dr. Barbara Harbach. A State Divided -- A Missouri Symphony was created for the October 27, 2012 dedication of Battle of Island Mound. Narrated by Dr. Louis Gerteis and performed by the University Orchestra, conducted by Robert Charles Howard.

Officials at Jefferson Barracks National operate under the notion that you can always learn something about a society by how they bury their dead. Civil War soldiers… both Union and Confederate… are buried at Jefferson Barracks. On a cemetery tour we visit monuments for each, including a mass grave where 175 men are buried.

Jefferson Barracks played a role in the Civil War long before the Civil War began. That's because so many Civil War generals… Union and Confederate… passed through there before they made the very important decision regarding which side they were going to fight for. For nearly ten years now, a small group of very dedicated people has been working to establish the Missouri Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks. They hope to open to the public this year.

Today many people may react with disgust, horror… even humor… at some of the commonly held beliefs in the medical community at the time of the Civil War. Dr. David Meyers, a re-enactor with the Society of Civil War Surgeons, sheds some light on some of the tenants members of the medical community were operating under when Union and Confederate forces were mortally wounding each other across the eastern half of America. Even citizens back then had a problem with the sanitary conditions...

In St. Louis County, the Museum of Transportation is featuring a Civil War sesquicentennial exhibit titled "Roads, Rivers, & Rails: Transportation of the Civil War." This episode takes a look at that exhibit, but more importantly, at a strategic tunnel on Museum of Transportation property. It was virtually the only way to get into the city of St. Louis 150 years ago if you were traveling by rail. Also in this piece, we meet a man who is trying to construct, and build support for, a...

In the winter of 1862, a serious epidemic of smallpox broke-out among Confederate prisoners in a Union prisoner-of-war camp in Alton, IL. Rather than run the risk of infecting residents of Alton, prison officials moved the sick prisoners to Sunflower Island, out in the middle of the Mississippi River. Not surprisingly, it became a place where men went to die. Smallpox Island is a good indicator of the understanding Civil War-era medical personnel had regarding sanitation, infection, and...

If you've heard of James Eads, it's likely because you're familiar with the bridge he designed, which spans the Mississippi River at St. Louis. But before Eads built a bridge over the Mississippi, he built ironclad gunboats that patrolled it for Union forces during the Civil War.

Make no mistake, the Civil War was an uncertain time in the state of Missouri. If somebody asked you about your politics, you better be careful, because it may be a trick question. That became apparent in this piece about the closest point Confederate troops likely ever got to the city of St. Louis. Back then it was called Old Cheltenham, and it was out in the country. These days it goes by a much more familiar name, and it's in a friendly St. Louis neighborhood.

During the Civil War, the federal government went to great lengths to make sure St. Louis, and the Union Arsenal, remained in Union control. Union forces built forts known as earthen redoubts. While there is no sign of the forts now, archeological maps detail where they were located. The forts were located on high, common ground familiar to residents… then & now.

The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, or NGA, is on ground that has been federal government property for more than 150 years. It is located in south St. Louis, right across the street from Anheuser-Busch. Today personnel there construct maps & charts in support of military operations. In the 1960's they helped map the moon for some of the Apollo missions. During the Civil War, NGA was the site of the St. Louis Union Arsenal. And for thousands of years prior to that,...

In Episode 4, we return to the Missouri History Museum for a detailed explanation about the Union Arsenal in St. Louis, and the events at Camp Jackson. Both Unionists and Confederates were positioning themselves to control the St. Louis Arsenal, which is the largest arsenal in the state. Secessionist-leaning Governor Claiborne Jackson called upon the militia to gather at Camp Jackson, currently the site of St. Louis University. Union General Nathaniel Lyon believes that act is outrageous,...

Some of the limestone buildings still in use at Jefferson Barracks County Park were actually constructed a few years before the Civil War began. The engineering and design standards the federal government employed in the mid-1800's stood the test of time. Particularly impressive is the fact that these structures designed to hold weapons and explosives included a fire containment plan.

People wondering what conditions led to civil war in America in the mid-1800's need look no further than the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. The times were changing. And people for and against slavery knew it. Encouraged by the success of several "freedom cases" in the country, a slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom… and lost. Dred and Harriet Scott would eventually gain their freedom. But it would not come from a ruling in an American court.

This first episode examines "The Civil War in Missouri," an exhibit at the Missouri History Museum that ends in March of 2013. There, we set the stage for war in America by examining the social and political climate in Missouri in the mid-1800's.