J. D. Stevens
Sergeant
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2016
- Location
- Deep In The Heart of Texas
In 2019, I posted a thread on the Battle of Palemetto (sometimes Palmito) Ranch on the lower Rio Grande River. It was called the last battle of the Civil War. I had been to the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth where they had a diorama of the battle on display. For the critical eye, the diorama itself has some inaccuracies, but it was large and well done. I enjoyed spending time looking at it. I was most impressed that it was built by high school students in Arizona. If you are interested, the details are in the 2019 thread found below.
civilwartalk.com
@rebel brit also posted a thread with excellent pictures of this diorama
civilwartalk.com
When it was announced the Fort Worth Museum was going to close, my first thought was what would happen to this large diorama. Myself and a friend drove up to Camp Mabrey in Austin this past Saturday to attend a WWI reenactment. Camp Mabrey is also the location of the Texas Military Forces Museum. Just in case anyone is interested, it is an excellent museum. I spent half a day going through the museum, both inside and out, in 2021. Jeff Hunt is the curator and has done a great job of honoring Texas military from the Revolution through the Middle East.
Arriving a couple hours early we decided to check out the museum for anything new. To my surprise, there in the Civil War Section was the Battle of Palmetto Ranch Diorama with displays of maps and text describing the battle. Call me sentimental, but it made me feel good the diorama had not only been saved, but was on display at one of the better museums on Texas military history.
Diorama relocated at the Texas Military Forces Museum @ Camp Mabrey (my picture taking skills are not up to par)
Just in case anyone was wondering about the WWI Reenactment, it was much better than I expected. About 40+ reenactors in German, American, and British uniforms. They even had a couple of Scots wearing kilts. A large crowd attended. I may be breaking the rules here, but I thought I would post a few pictures of the reenactment for those who may be interested. It started with artillery bombardment explosions. There were several machine guns on both sides, plus the rifles. They furnished ear plugs which were needed.
Front line of Germans in foxholes. There was a second line with machine guns.
American and British Advancing. The also had a machine gun
Mustard Gas! All reenactors put on gas masks. Unfortunately, it killed all the spectators.
French Renault Tank to the rescue with machine gun blazing.
The tank is a rebuild, but it is an amazing job several guys chipped in to build. The body is plywood. From a distant you cannot tell the tracks are made of wood and there is no load on them, but they rotate. The tank actually runs on small rubber wheels unseen underneath.
Hope not too many rules were broken showing these WWI pictures, but it was a good day for me.
Palmito Ranch - The Final Fury | Trans Mississippi Theaters
Although the last battle of the Civil War on May 13, 1865 at Palmito Ranch was a Southern victory, it remains relatively obscure in history. Six weeks after General Lee surrendered at Appomattox, the battle had no military significance. It’s still unclear why it was fought since a “gentleman’s...
civilwartalk.com
@rebel brit also posted a thread with excellent pictures of this diorama
Texas Civil War Museum Diorama's | Civil War Games & Miniatures
I'm sure either myself or someone else has posted some of these pics before. However as we now know, these amazing Diorama's will probably be sold and moved elsewhere, I wanted to show them in their full glory. Battle of the Wilderness.
civilwartalk.com
When it was announced the Fort Worth Museum was going to close, my first thought was what would happen to this large diorama. Myself and a friend drove up to Camp Mabrey in Austin this past Saturday to attend a WWI reenactment. Camp Mabrey is also the location of the Texas Military Forces Museum. Just in case anyone is interested, it is an excellent museum. I spent half a day going through the museum, both inside and out, in 2021. Jeff Hunt is the curator and has done a great job of honoring Texas military from the Revolution through the Middle East.
Arriving a couple hours early we decided to check out the museum for anything new. To my surprise, there in the Civil War Section was the Battle of Palmetto Ranch Diorama with displays of maps and text describing the battle. Call me sentimental, but it made me feel good the diorama had not only been saved, but was on display at one of the better museums on Texas military history.
Diorama relocated at the Texas Military Forces Museum @ Camp Mabrey (my picture taking skills are not up to par)
Just in case anyone was wondering about the WWI Reenactment, it was much better than I expected. About 40+ reenactors in German, American, and British uniforms. They even had a couple of Scots wearing kilts. A large crowd attended. I may be breaking the rules here, but I thought I would post a few pictures of the reenactment for those who may be interested. It started with artillery bombardment explosions. There were several machine guns on both sides, plus the rifles. They furnished ear plugs which were needed.
Front line of Germans in foxholes. There was a second line with machine guns.
American and British Advancing. The also had a machine gun
Mustard Gas! All reenactors put on gas masks. Unfortunately, it killed all the spectators.
French Renault Tank to the rescue with machine gun blazing.
The tank is a rebuild, but it is an amazing job several guys chipped in to build. The body is plywood. From a distant you cannot tell the tracks are made of wood and there is no load on them, but they rotate. The tank actually runs on small rubber wheels unseen underneath.
Hope not too many rules were broken showing these WWI pictures, but it was a good day for me.
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