History on Display (The Amesbury News - July 2005)

The Bartlett Museum has opened a special two-year exhibit "Amesbury Goes to War: A History of Service and Sacrifice'' honoring Amesbury men and women, who served during times of conflict. The formal opening of the exhibit took place Saturday, July 30, to coincide with a Civil War re-enactment and encampment on the museum grounds.

The Boston Volunteers, a group of Civil War era impressionists with Amesbury teacher Captain Paul Jancewicz, adjutant, recreated the 11th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on the museum grounds. The day also featured the Merrimac Val-ley Civil War Round Table, a presentation by weapons expert and author James Ballou of Bob's Tactical Range and Gun Shop, and a discussion of period uniforms by Arthur Ober.

When completed, "Amesbury Goes to War: A History of Service and Sacrifice" will cover the period from the American Revolution to the War in Iraq and features items from the museum's collection as well those on loan. The exhibit is the work of muse-um curator Gina Moscardini, her husband Paul Moscardini, and Richard Nichols, all long-time Members of the Bartlett Museum, which is an all volunteer organization.
"Paul is a history teacher at Wakefield High School," Gina Moscardini said. "We worked together on the design, but Paul did all the research on the exhibits. We tried to give a human face to the wars."

Currently the exhibit concludes with World War I. The museum still needs uniforms, artifacts, documents, and photographs from the Korean Conflict to the present in order to complete the exhibit.
The showcase in the museum lobby with colorful reproductions of posters from World War I and World War II is a teaser of what is to come. It features American fly-boy Capt. Fred Knapp of Ames-bury. His widow, Nancy Knapp, loaned the museum a collection of his things.