A Civil War Museum Online

Since the early days of the Web, the Smithsonian Institute has been bringing its stellar artifacts to classrooms across America.

Now CivilWar@Smithsonian (civilwar.si.edu ) continues in that tradition. Produced by the National Portrait Gallery, the Web site's mission is to display and interpret artifacts that the museum has been collecting and preserving since the time of the Civil War. Many of these artifacts are national treasures and works of art, say the site's organizers, and most of them have not been available to the public in decades. For example, there's a bill of sale for a slave, a photograph of a cotton gin, and portraits of many of the key players in the war.

In the months ahead, organizers hope to develop educational materials designed to further understand the war. In the meantime, there are about 250 objects featured on the site. Organizers feel that students in grades 7–12 will find it most useful, but kids as young as fourth grade can also make some worthwhile discoveries.