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Before cats ruled the internet, felines ruled the battlefield. At least that’s the story told by Civil War Tails of Gettysburg at the Homestead Diorama Museum. The museum features painstakingly detailed miniature scenes that depict crucial battle moments using handmade clay cat figurines – there are 8,000 of them and counting.
Rebecca and Ruth Brown, twin sisters who co-own Civil War Tails, were preparing for their annual Labor Day scavenger hunt when Rebecca spoke with PA Local in late August. Visitors will carefully study their dioramas for quotes, facts, and elements of the scene. “We try to do a mix so that kids and non-history buffs can do it, but it’s not too easy for history buffs!” said Rebecca.
They may not draw as large a crowd as visitors to Gettysburg National Military Park, about two miles away, for a long weekend, but the event will mark the special niche they have carved out for themselves in a city steeped in war history.
Although the Browns opened their museum in 2015, the labor of love dates back to the sisters’ childhoods in suburban Philadelphia, where homeschooled 11-year-olds were first captivated by books about civil war. “I read biographies about General Lee and Grant,” Rebecca, 39, said. “And because I loved them, I made them out of clay.”
Cats, she explains, were simply easier to sculpt than humans. “We always had cats as pets. Everything we did was cats,” she said. “So when I created Lee and Grant, they automatically appeared as cats.” A hobby was born and the two sisters began making hordes of feline soldiers. In high school, they used their figurines to teach other homeschooled children about the Civil War.
The Browns currently have nearly a dozen dioramas on display. Each consists of a landscape replicating a moment from the Civil War, with buildings and natural features to scale, and a 1-inch-tall cat for each soldier. In addition to the complete paintings, smaller scenes and older figures are also on display. Their the biggest project depicts the Battle of Little Round Top on the second day of fighting at Gettysburg, and lasts 10 years.
The moment played out in the 11-foot-long diorama, Rebecca tells PA Local, is dramatic. It takes place “just after the arrival of the 140th New York. Companies A and G followed Colonel O’Rorke’s call: “This way, boys!” and lined up to the right of Colonel Vincent’s brigade. The other eight companies are still on the ridge; soon they will descend the slope obliquely to the left to join A&G, but by then the fighting will be largely over. Meanwhile, to the left of Vincent’s brigade, the 20th Maine began its bayonet charge. The left wing of the regiment swings forward.
Currently, there are 2,000 “cavalrycats” in this scene; each cat takes 10-15 minutes to prepare. The sisters continue to update the diorama while it is on display.
The Browns try to keep their depictions of carnage family-friendly. Originally, Rebecca said, “we had a cat whose head had been ripped off. I mean, his head was right there next to him.” They chose to remove this figure, deeming it a bit too graphic, although there are others with missing or severed limbs.
![A battlefield diorama at the Civil War Tails Museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A battlefield diorama at the Civil War Tails Museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.](https://www.spotlightpa.org/imgproxy/insecure/rt:fill/w:320/h:213/g:sm/el:1/q:75/MjAyMy8wOC8wMWpmLTF3Zjktd2RmNC13OHRyLmpwZWc=.jpeg)
Civil War Tails
Ruth works as a lawyer while Rebecca runs the museum. The Homestead, a 6,500-square-foot Civil War-era house that was originally a dormitory for a girls’ orphanage, is also their home; they live upstairs and the dioramas are displayed on the first floor.
“The original building, just north of us, was here during the battles,” Rebecca told PA Local. “And then our house was built in 1869 to expand it.”
Living in Gettysburg is a dream come true for Rebecca, whose favorite landmark is the Angle Battlefield. “It’s really cool to be able to just walk around there and hang out,” she said. “Or just go down to Little Round Top when I need photos of rocks.”
The property has numerous battalions of clay cats, but only two living, Kenzie and Aubrey.
The two-year-old siblings mostly stay on the third floor, where they can’t get into any cat shenanigans (Kenzie has a penchant for knocking T-shirts off merchandise shelves). But it turns out the Browns aren’t exclusively cat lovers: The day after our conversation, they’re getting a new dog.
So, what is the target demographic for a cat-themed Civil War museum? “It runs the gamut,” Rebecca said. “It’s fun to have people who aren’t interested in history, because they go home wanting to know more (about the Civil War).” The spot has also become popular with staff at the nearby Gettysburg National Military Park, Rebecca says.
“We have licensed guides and rangers who come out and like to see, to scale, a specific moment on the battlefield. A guy who works at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum came and realized that we had the right number of guys on the turret of the monitor (USS).
Every once in a while, they receive a mention on social media that generates viral interest and inevitably polarized comments, but the sisters welcome skeptics into Civil War Tails. “We’ll have people who admit they didn’t think they would like it, and then they end up appreciating the details and seeing the story that they’re rooted in,” Rebecca said. “And I’m like, well done to you for shelling out for admission to something you didn’t think you’d like. That’s cool.
Civil War Tails is open every day except Wednesdays, Sundays and first Thursdays. You can find out more on their website, civilwartails.com.
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