Harrisburg area residents will have an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about their city’s past — and get a peek at part of its future — at Harrisburg’s Civil War Grand Review 2000 on Friday June 9 through Sunday June 11.

The weekend event will include reenacted Civil War encampments and battles, an exposition at the state Farm Show Complex, and educational tours and presentations. Plus, attendees can check out the National Civil War Museum under construction at Harrisburg’s Reservoir Park.

Highlighting the weekend will be a parade of thousands of Union and Confederate re-enactors through downtown Harrisburg on Saturday. The weekend events and parade commemorate the 135th Anniversary of the historic Civil War Grand Review, in which thousands of Union troops marched down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House in Washington, DC, to mark the end of the Civil War.

The Grand Review was re-enacted in the nation’s capital in 1990. Event organizers considered Washington as the site for this anniversary but chose Harrisburg instead, thanks to efforts by the City of Harrisburg and Mayor Stephen R. Reed.

Guided by the theme "the Healing Our Nation," Harrisburg’s Grand Review will mark the first time Union and Confederate re-enactors march together in the historic commemoration. The event also will see the largest-ever turnout of both the U.S. and Confederate Colored troops.

Ron Paul, event organizer and president of the Great American Civil War Society, noted that the Confederacy was excluded from the original Grand Review, as were the black soldiers who had fought in the war. Only white Union soldiers participated in the great parade in Washington 135 years ago, but Paul emphasized that Harrisburg’s commemoration will be inclusive, with all the soldiers — black and white, Confederate and Union — marching side-by-side.

"It’s making a statement that our country, even though we had a major war 135 years ago, can unite as one today," he said.

The Grand Review is being produced by the Great American Civil War Society, the Camp Curtin Historical Society/Civil War Round Table, and the City of Harrisburg. Proceeds will be used for historical preservation in south-central Pennsylvania, including the restoration of monuments on Gettysburg’s battlefields.

"This is arguably the largest and most historically significant event ever scheduled to be held in the mid-state," he said, "and we are delighted to be the host community for such an ambitious undertaking. We are further honored to note the international recognition of Harrisburg’s vitally important role in the Civil War, a little-known and heretofore largely ignored circumstance which is deserving of historical attention and remembrance."

Paul said Grand Review events should help educate people about the city’s Civil War history. "The average person, including people living in Harrisburg, does not know what part Harrisburg played in the Civil War," he said.

But that part was significant: More than 300,000 Union Army troops trained at Camp Curtin, the largest training facility of either army, at the present Sixth and Woodbine streets. The city also served as a key transportation crossroads for troops and supplies, as well as a major hospital for injured soldiers from both sides and a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Confederate soldiers.

The training camp’s importance to the Northern war effort was one reason Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee targeted Harrisburg for attack. But the city was spared an invasion by the Southern army when advance forces from both sides met accidentally in Gettysburg, resulting in the epochal conflict that brought about the downfall of the Confederacy.

Grand Review attendees also can enjoy a number of special events:

On Friday evening, organizers will stage a mock recreation naval battle between scale models of the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (known historically as the Merrimac) in the Susquehanna River. A special Silver Taps ceremony will be held afterward at the museum, followed by fireworks.

On Saturday, thousands of re-enactors portraying Union and Confederate soldiers will march through the streets of Harrisburg. In the evening, a period ball will be held at the state Farm Show Complex, with Union and Confederate soldiers and their ladies, Civil War-era civilians, and present-day government and education leaders in attendance. Music will be provided by the renowned 28th Pennsylvania Regimental Brass Band.

On Sunday, the re-enactors will take part in a River Crossing Battle in which the Confederates (on City Island) attempt to capture the state capitol, held by Union soldiers (at Riverfront Park). Thousands of spectators are expected to watch the battle, which will include fighting from the riverbanks and across the bridges connecting Harrisburg with the West Shore.

Under construction at Reservoir Park, the museum is set to open November 15. Though the building will not be open during the Grand Review, the museum grounds will be, and a sampling of artifacts will be on display outside. A display and more information on the museum also will be set up at the Expo.

Located on the highest elevation in Harrisburg, the museum is modeled after a mid-19th century building with a brick façade, plazas, and a grand cupola towering 40 feet in the air. The 60,000-square-foot, two-story structure will include exhibition galleries, a library, a gift shop, and an auditorium, and the rolling hills of the 90-acre park will allow the museum to host re-enactor encampments and drills.

The $36.9 million project is funded by $16.2 million in state capital budget redevelopment assistance funds and by other public and private monies.

Like the Grand Review, the museum is to be inclusive. Randy King, chief assistant to the mayor, noted that it will feature "a collection of artifacts and documents that have never been seen by the public, and it will tell the story of the entire Civil War era — not just from one side or one battle."

Besides featuring both Union and Confederate artifacts, the collection will cover events leading up the war — including the role played by slavery — as well as what happened after the war.

"It’s the most comprehensive museum in the nation on the entire Civil War era," King said, adding that the collection will include about 17,000 documents and artifacts collected under the guidance of Mayor Reed.

The museum also is likely to become one of the foremost Civil War research facilities, King said, adding that he expects 10 or more books to be written on the documents in its collection.

And besides contributing to historic preservation, research, and education, the museum will be a boon for Harrisburg’s economy: It is expected to attract at least 70,000 visitors per year and generate more than $670,000 in annual income.