Civil War Tails 8,000 Cat Soldiers Tell the Panoramic Story

A quirky framing of the Civil War grounded in solid scholarship. The Brown twin sisters have built historical dioramas to tell the story of the Civil War with an unexpected twist. The thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers depicted in the battles and scenes are cats! Little Round Top, Pickett’s Charge, Andersonville come to life in this fun, fanciful, solidly researched and highly visual representation of the War. The cats pull you in, and soon you’ll find you’re immersed and engaged, learning details and gaining a new and different perspective.

Twin sisters Ruth and Rebecca Brown have merged their interest in Civil War military history with their love for molding miniature soldiers in clay. On display at their unusual museum in Gettysburg, PA are dozens of historical dioramas and the 8,000 Union and Confederate CAT SOLDIERS they’ve created over the past twenty years. Their work and the museum, Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum, have been featured in many articles, interviews, and online videos including in the Washington Post and on National Public Radio and CNN.

Ruth works as an attorney and writes fantasy novels when she’s not making trees or Yankees for the dioramas. Rebecca gives tours of the museum and in her spare time, when not making more model cats, enjoys working on WWII and tall ship model kits, writing historical fiction, and watching old westerns. They live in Gettysburg, PA.