new market battlefield military museum

Boonehawk

We visited this museum years ago. It proved to be worthwhile and informative. It contains exhibits from wars other than the Civil War which actually enhanced the visit. It makes one aware and appreciative of the persistence of Americans to remain free and help others acquire freedom.

PattersonBoston

Great place to stop and learn about battles of the Valley Campaign. The exhibits are very well done and the staff is super friendly and helpful. Nice balance of text and objects - and terrific sigange. I would recommend this as a place to stop in New Market.

Elwoodj84

This little museum, which is not part of the adjacent New Market Battlefield is an old fashioned gem. It is the display of a extensive Civil War items with a few items from other parts of American history. It appears that someone took their large collection and put it on display. A bit old fashioned, read the cards, look int the display cases. Not a touchy and feel museum, so young ones will not enjoy it, and make you rush through it if you bring them. Though, if you are an avid amateur historian, it will impress. Easily, worth the small admission charge.

96mab

This is on the way to the state battlefield, it is privately owned and the collection was put together by the owner who was at the front desk. It's not completely political correct, there are a few non civil war displays but it reflects an individual viewpoint and has personality which is rare and worth visiting

rhondap20

They had a wonderful display of guns, clothing, medals and more. My husband had a tough time leaving.

c2h5oh_1

I learned quite a bit by visiting this Civil War Battlefield. The tour of the museum and film were fine although the displays were showing a bit of tiredness. The walk in the battlefield itself was good, but there could be more signage to explain the small posts with numbers on them (marking the death of individuals). The farm house and barn on the battlefield also lacked very much infomation. It was "here it is.... look at it... now you've seen it".... no information. No "park rangers" to tell you detail. Interstate 81 runs down the middle of the battlefield (too bad they let that happen). On the west side is the museum and the grass covered battlefield. We noticed a walkway to the other side of I-81 but we had no clue what was there so we opted not to take that walk (we were a bit walk weary from visiting Washington DC two days earlier). I was sad to see this hallowed ground being treated with so little respect. We should be ashamed. On a positive note, I did enjoy being there...and paying my respects to the many that died there.

163marcias

The museum presents more than just civil war artifacts. There are objects from the Revolutionary War era, War of 1812, both World Wars, and various other times. There are also Native American objects from different time periods. It isn't very big, but it's well laid out with information and artifacts nicely presented.

302ricks

Very nice museum. The fact that it is a private collection is impressive. Very well done for a private museum. Better than many commercial ones.

michaelwhite3268

Nestled in the Shenandoah Valley among some of the most beautiful mountains I can see lays a different type of historical museum. The design is unique to it's setting. The interiors give the visitor an overall view of what happened here. Boys and men died here. True heroism and sacrifice. The battlefield and museum will enlighten and give scope to what truly happened here.

972kevinb

My family and I finishing up a vacation touring Civil War battle sights like Gettysburg and Manassas stopped here on our way back to North Carolina. We asked the owner at the desk about the other museum down the road run by VMI. He began to bad mouth it and said it wasn't worth our time. By the time we walked through his display cases of Americas historical items, we didn't have time to go to the real Civil War museum, which from the outside looked very, very interesting. Maybe next trip. My wife felt that battlefield military museum was quite dreary and dirty.

maynerd

Only got as far as the front desk. The man who works there has a sales pitch for his museum that is a rant about the actual battlefield museum down the road.Not only was he inaccurate about that museum but his bitterness turned me away from going into his establishment. What a sad man.

Pegggus

The owner, who mans the desk, does make it clear this is a private museum. But he will also, in his next breath, bad mouth the museum down the road. Unnecessary, and unseemly. Maybe his attitude colored my opinion, but I have no interest in seeing hundreds and hundreds of guns, both toy and real. And while the exhibits are explained pretty well, his anti-union (northern states) attitude was clear throughout. He is entitled to his opinion, but museums should be more even handed. And the WWII exhibits verged (or even crossed into) extremely poor taste. Nazi paraphernalia and even a purported tunic from a person interred in a concentration camp. Incredibly poor taste.

jkmdieff

Agree with most of the reviews here...very interesting collection. I especially found the WWII items very interesting - a blotter and notebook from Hitler's desk, Goring's uniform hat for example. But one thing to note - the guy running the desk really bad mouthed the actual battlefield down the road when I asked him about it. Said it was just a couple of mannequin's and display's and not worth the trip (and the $). Heard him say that to two others while looking around the lobby. The real battlefield is certainly worth the trip (and the $10) and I just don't think they should use this to get people to pay their admission fee.

62BrianH62

While I do understand the confusion shared by some, the museum's primary web site states clearly that it is privately owned and that its collection extends to other historical timelines (it even lists its exhibits). If you want to visit a museum solely dedicated to the battle of New Market, by all means visit the VMI location. However, if you want to visit a museum that covers that, as well as numerous other significant eras of American History, you owe it to yourself to stop by. The American Indian exhibit is incredible in itself. If you're a true history buff, I would think that you'd want to visit both.

963bobb

My wife and I had come to Page Co. to see the Luray Caverns; we'd researched the various attractions available. The two which we enjoyed most were this museum and the Hawksbill River-Walk in the heart of Luray. This museum, as another has pointed out, is a Private enterprise. Thank fully so! Government and Corporate efforts seemingly always fail at "serving the public". Here we saw history done in a style that it was informative, and pleasurable. Had our grandchildren been with us, they would have been well entertained, too!We also got a discount for being Senior Citizens, not but 10%, but it was appreciated.This will be in our memories for many years yet to come. 'Glad that we did it!