Civil War diorama dismantled
Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 12:44 pm
Dismantling of Civil War diorama angers teens
The Associated Press
AUSTIN -- An Arizona high school teacher and his students who took years to build a Civil War battle diorama are angry that the curator of a Texas military museum dismantled it after just a few weeks on display.
The teacher accuses Texas Military Forces Museum Executive Director Jeff Hunt of wrecking the 10-by 5-foot diorama depicting the 1865 Battle of Palmetto Ranch in South Texas.
Officials at the Austin museum say the $23,000 model was historically inaccurate and too bulky, and that Hunt dismantled it last fall and carefully stored the pieces for later use.
History teacher Glen Frakes of Gilbert, Ariz., said Hunt left broken pieces on its base and that the tiny Civil War soldiers were left in a heap. Some students cried when they learned the fate of their project, Frakes said.
Hunt "said it was awful; he said it was the worst thing he ever saw - I listened to this and I was kind of stunned," Frakes said., describing what he said was his only conversation with Hunt.
"I asked what the status of it was, and he said 'We dismantled it.' ... When I told my students about what happened, they were in deep shock," Frakes told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for Sunday's editions.
Hunt referred questions to a spokesman for the Camp Mabry, where the museum is located, and he acknowledged that the diorama was commissioned several years earlier and on display only a few weeks.
"Our intent is not to disappoint those kids," said camp spokesman Col. Bill Meehan. "We're going to reuse it and we're going to display it differently. We're going to keep it and correct it."
Meehan said the matter could have been handled better but that ultimately the museum director decides what to do with exhibits of material that is not historic artifacts.
Before coming to the museum in October of 2007, Hunt was fired from a job as curator of the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. A spokeswoman for the Texas Historical Commission said Hunt worked at the Fredericksburg museum for several years but was dismissed for failing to adhere to agency policy. Frakes says Hunt should lose his job in Austin as well.
Meehan said the Battle of Palmetto Ranch model incorrectly showed mountains in the background and that it depicted too many dead soldiers.
Frakes argued that he and his students would have been willing to make changes if the model had been shipped back to Arizona. Frakes said that it was built under the direction of the previous director and with ideas drawn from a book written by Hunt.
The book, "The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch," was published in 2002.
The Associated Press
AUSTIN -- An Arizona high school teacher and his students who took years to build a Civil War battle diorama are angry that the curator of a Texas military museum dismantled it after just a few weeks on display.
The teacher accuses Texas Military Forces Museum Executive Director Jeff Hunt of wrecking the 10-by 5-foot diorama depicting the 1865 Battle of Palmetto Ranch in South Texas.
Officials at the Austin museum say the $23,000 model was historically inaccurate and too bulky, and that Hunt dismantled it last fall and carefully stored the pieces for later use.
History teacher Glen Frakes of Gilbert, Ariz., said Hunt left broken pieces on its base and that the tiny Civil War soldiers were left in a heap. Some students cried when they learned the fate of their project, Frakes said.
Hunt "said it was awful; he said it was the worst thing he ever saw - I listened to this and I was kind of stunned," Frakes said., describing what he said was his only conversation with Hunt.
"I asked what the status of it was, and he said 'We dismantled it.' ... When I told my students about what happened, they were in deep shock," Frakes told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for Sunday's editions.
Hunt referred questions to a spokesman for the Camp Mabry, where the museum is located, and he acknowledged that the diorama was commissioned several years earlier and on display only a few weeks.
"Our intent is not to disappoint those kids," said camp spokesman Col. Bill Meehan. "We're going to reuse it and we're going to display it differently. We're going to keep it and correct it."
Meehan said the matter could have been handled better but that ultimately the museum director decides what to do with exhibits of material that is not historic artifacts.
Before coming to the museum in October of 2007, Hunt was fired from a job as curator of the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. A spokeswoman for the Texas Historical Commission said Hunt worked at the Fredericksburg museum for several years but was dismissed for failing to adhere to agency policy. Frakes says Hunt should lose his job in Austin as well.
Meehan said the Battle of Palmetto Ranch model incorrectly showed mountains in the background and that it depicted too many dead soldiers.
Frakes argued that he and his students would have been willing to make changes if the model had been shipped back to Arizona. Frakes said that it was built under the direction of the previous director and with ideas drawn from a book written by Hunt.
The book, "The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch," was published in 2002.