It’s Go Time.

Well, today is Brett Kelley’s first day of duty. His winter quarters’ roof was finished before the 18″ or so of snow that fell overnight. And he’s got a raised wooden floor. I still admire his spunk and dedication. Check the videos to the lower right of the page, regular videos and images are also available on the National Civil War Museum’s Facebook page (be a fan!).

Special thanks to justin kunkel for the nice article over at spotoblog about the fundraiser and the participation of local high school students.

Snow Storm hits the Northeast!

While students across the northeast are celebrating delays, early dismissals, and days off due to the incoming snowstorms, Brett Kelley is less than thrilled. Kelley begins his life as a Civil War soldier tomorrow, despite the expected foot of snow.

See the lower right of the page for a recent video from the local news.

Recent Mentions..

Our project has been recently covered in several places on the web-

Museum Curator to live like a soldier

Twitter will help the world track Harrisburg’s National Civil War Museum curator’s picket duty

Civil War “Survivorman” Benefits Museum

Please remember to subscribe to this blog for updates (click “Posts” next to “Feeds” above), and to follow @cwsoldier24_7 on Twitter!

Welcome!

This blog has been created by students at Hershey High School in support of “In Their Footsteps: Walking the Picket Line,” a major fundraiser for the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA.

Brett Kelley, Curator at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA will be deducting two weeks from his vacation time, and be off from February 6th to the 20th. He’s not, however, really vacationing.

In the interest of raising funds for the education department of the museum, specifically for helping school districts pay for field trips to the museum and to pay for “virtual” electronic field trips for K12 students, Brett will be living the life of a Civil War picket soldier for the duration of his vacation time. He’ll be living in the large (heavily exposed) backyard of the impressive museum, living on rations, wearing the clothes, eating the hardtack, living the life.

In order to duplicate the very challenging schedule and responsibilities of a picket soldier, he’ll be spending several days a week on picket duty (similar to “watch” in the Navy). He’ll also be carrying out several ten mile marches to raise awareness of the Museum, and building a small winter quarters and wooden defenses.

As the project continues, we’ll be updating this blog with information. After Brett begins his adventure, we’ll be adding daily updates on his experiences, specifically in the form of his handwritten journal pages, video, and images. Please stay tuned, and please spread the word. You can also help our campaign by subscribing to this blog (click “Posts” next to “Feeds” at the upper right), by following @cwsoldier24_7 on Twitter, and by becoming a fan of the National Civil War Museum on Facebook.

In support of the project, students and staff at Hershey High School also presented Brett with donations of food, and general moral support: