TEXAS CONFEDERATE MUSEUM
COLLECTION
The Texas Confederate Museum
Collection, owned by The Texas Division United Daughters of the Confederacy®,
is held in public trust for the citizens of the state of Texas. The mission
of the Texas Confederate Museum Collection is to collect and preserve artifacts
and other historical materials relating to the history of the Confederate
states and interpret the collection to the public through the use of exhibits,
educational programs and publications.
Included
in the artifacts and historical materials in the Texas Civil War Museum
Collection are documents, clothing, weaponry, reference books, a Jefferson
Davis piano, a silver service of Dick Dowling, a locket of Robert E. Lee’s
hair, a S. Salomon painting of Winnie Davis, a field desk of General Ben
McCullough and the largest collection of Confederate flags from Texas units
in the State.
In 1987, the Flag Collection alone
was appraised in non-restored condition at $700,000. At that time,
the collection consisted of 33 Confederate flags, 4 Union flags, 4 United
Confederate Veterans flags, 3 Post War flags, one World War I flag and
two World War II flags. The history of each flag was researched, verified
and documented. In 1992, conservation effort for the artifact collection
was begun with a projected cost of $305,562.
To date, 39 flags plus 5 Artifacts/Archival
Documents have been conserved through cash donations, grants or in-kind
services, for a total cost of $646,405." Today the Texas Confederate Museum
Collection is valued at $2,250,000.
In 2001, The Texas Division United
Daughters of the Confederacy®, partnered with the Texas Civil War Museum,
to house and display the Texas Confederate Museum Collection, along with
two private collections. The grand opening of the new museum was held on
January 24, 2006.
The
museum has had 65,714 visitors from 76 countries and every state in the
United States.