For decades, Gordon Jones has bridged Civil War scholarship and the public. Emerging Civil War has honored Atlanta History Center curator for his efforts

Gordon Jones has been an historian and storyteller for decades (Picket and AHC photos)

Affable and engaging, Gordon L. Jones, the senior military historian and curator at the Atlanta History Center, has for decades been instrumental in telling the story of the Civil War and its impact on place, people and memory.

Whether it has been through talks or artifacts he has researched and curated, Jones is considered the consummate public historian, according to Emerging Civil War.

He led the relocation and restoration of “The Battle of Atlanta,” the breathtaking cyclorama painting depicting the July 1864 battle, and has overseen “Turning Point: The American Civil War,” the AHC’s permanent Civil War exhibit that soon will be overhauled. Another project was the restoration of the locomotive Texas, famous for its role in the 1862 "Great Locomotive Chase."

Emerging Civil War, a collaboration of about 30 historians, recently bestowed its 2024 Award for Service in Civil War Public History to Jones at its annual meeting in Spotsylvania County, Va., saying he has had a significant impact on the field of public history by helping connect everyday people to America’s defining event.

Focal point of the Atlanta Cyclorama shows a brief Rebel breakthrough (Picket photo)

Those who know Jones say the historian richly deserves the recognition by making the history center one of the best Civil War museums in the country. He’s been on the staff since 1991. 

“Gordon's knowledge of the history, the material culture and both the history of and the practice of interpretation has meant that the museum and its exhibits haven't just been a bunch of ‘old stuff on display’ but a place of history, education, context and provocation -- the muse in museum,” Jim Ogden, historian at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, told the Civil War Picket in an email.

“So much of Atlanta's, the Civil War's story wouldn't be accessible today if it weren't for Gordon's hard and thoughtful work,” said Ogden.

Chris Mackowski, editor in chief of Emerging Civil War, said Jones has ensured the AHC tells “a full, balanced, and remarkably rich story.”

Over the years, Jones has ensured people hear different perspectives, including those that may challenge long-held beliefs.

Jackson McQuigg and Jones in North Carolina for a 2017 talk about restored Texas (AHC)

“This means a lot to me because it comes from colleagues who are involved in the same kinds of work,” Jones said of the honor in an email Friday.

“Scholarship is essential, but so is engaging the wider public. We stand on the shoulders of giants – all those collectors, scholars, teachers, reenactors, friends and comrades who came before. I've learned so much from them over the years, and that's the greatest blessing of all,” he wrote.

Jones holds a master of arts in public history from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. from the Institute for the Liberal Arts at Emory University.

The curator has been a fixture at Civil War shows, AHC events and the Atlanta Civil War Roundtable, which he joined in 2001 and served as president in 2016-2017. His interest in the conflict grew as he took part in reenactments as a young man.

“At a high level, Gordon’s transformational work at the Atlanta History Center has elevated their Civil War exhibitions to world-class heights, and his leadership here at the Atlanta Civil War Round Table has connected our group to original research and opened doors to other leading authorities in the field,” said Sam Moses, president of the organization, which meets monthly at the AHC.

The dark-lit "Turning Point" exhibit is a longtime Atlanta History Center fixture

“But the thing that makes Gordon a truly one-of-a-kind educator is his unique ability to bring even the most casual observer into direct contact with history,” Moses said. “Gordon leverages artifacts -- often rare (and sometimes seemingly trivial) -- to weave a thread of importance that connects through time to the present day. Without leaning on over-dramatization, his presentation style builds steadily on fundamental themes, using good humor and carefully curated objects to help audiences relate to the people of the past, and even share in their experiences so many years afterward.”

A current priority for Jones is remaking the AHC’s “Turning Point,” its core but somewhat dated Civil War exhibit. Space for exhibits will jump from 9,200 square feet to 15,400 feet.

“Among (others) things, that allows us to exhibit collections acquired since ‘Turning Point opened in 1996, including the George Wray Collection and the rest of our U.S. Colored Troops artifacts," said Jones. "All this is due for opening in 2026. Yes, much still to do.”

Flag of the 127th USCT is in the AHC collection (Photo: Morphy Auctions)

The AHC’s collection of USCT items includes a regimental flag, knapsack, swords, soldier badges and a soldier manual. The Wray collection provides a fascinating look at Confederate weapons, some well-made, and some not so much.

Jackson McQuigg, vice president of properties for the AHC, has worked with Jones for three decades, notably on the Cyclorama and Texas projects.

“One thing I've noticed is that Gordon's deep knowledge of Civil War and military history is always accompanied by a desire to learn more. Not one to rest on his existing knowledge base, Gordon remains genuinely interested in historical research, especially if it will make him a better storyteller.”

“Further, Gordon is accessible -- always. His outgoing, friendly demeanor is genuine, real and available to all. He's never met a stranger. These are qualities which make him a joy to work with and a worthy recipient of this honor.”

The Picket, which has spoken with Jones about numerous topics over 15 years, reached out to other historians and Civil War experts for their reaction to the honor:

Jones in 2021 with a rare Whitworth sniper rifle used by the South (Picket photo)

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association

“Gordon deserves every public history award there is.”

Michael Shaffer, author of “Day by Day Through the Civil War in Georgia

“Very well-deserved. Gordon is always eager to share his wealth of knowledge with others, and remains a trusted member of the Civil War community.”

W. Todd Groce, president and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society

“This award is a well-deserved recognition of all that Gordon has accomplished over a long and productive career. He is a skillful public historian who knows how to effectively make scholarly history relevant and accessible to wide audience. I’m proud to be his friend.”

Past recipients of the ECW public history award include Civil War Trails, American Battlefield Trust; historian and author Gary Gallagher; Dave Ruth, former superintendent at Richmond National Battlefield; and the late D. P. Newton, founder of the White Oak Civil War Museum.

Emerging Civil War also honored Patrick Young, author of the Reconstruction Era blog, with the Stevenson Award for outstanding service to the organization.

At Atlanta Cyclorama's new home, patrons will receive a whole new perspective

Design concept for new Cyclorama setting (Atlanta History Center)

Landscape painters Franz Biberstein, Bernhard Schneider and Wilhelm Schroeter, no doubt, would be thrilled that their monumental piece of art will be made whole again.

Returning to the Atlanta Cyclorama in its upcoming restoration and move to a new home is a vertical strip 6 feet wide and 50-feet high, trimmed long ago so that the once-traveling painting could fit into its current building at Grant Park in Atlanta. And there’s more: The Cyclorama will get back an 8-foot swath of sky around the 371-foot circumference.

For F.W. Heine and August Lohr, who worked out of Milwaukee in 1885 and supervised the 22-member German team, the Cyclorama’s presentation at the Atlanta History Center will restore the visual perspective they intended.

Rather than hanging much like a shower curtain, the painting depicting a critical moment during the July 1864 Battle of Atlanta will be attached in a hyperbolic, or hourglass, shape, meant to imbue a 3-D effect.

(Library of Congress)

For decades, visitors at Grant Park sat on a revolving platform, seeing only one section of the panorama at a time.

When the new Cyclorama building at the AHC opens in 2017, they will stroll up to the simple, circular platform and slowly take the whole experience in.

“You can’t see where it ends,” Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator at the AHC, said of the new setting. “You are immersed in the scene.”

A witness to Civil War history

Cycloramas, or panoramas, once were wildly popular. Their heyday, peaking at about 1890, was before film and television became the predominant form of visual entertainment.

The Atlanta Cyclorama (its twin version no longer exists) was created during that boom as a tribute to the Federal victory at Atlanta. It eventually settled in Atlanta in 1892 and had various homes until the building at Grant Park opened in 1921.

Gordon Jones with old advertisement

The painting benefited from research conducted by its creators. They interviewed veterans of the battle and residents of the neighborhood a couple miles east of downtown Atlanta. They studied the landscape from a 40-foot wooden tower and referred to military maps.

The Cyclorama’s focal point is the Troup-Hurt House, where Confederates briefly broke the Union line before they were repulsed.

This bright spot gave Southerners a means by which to connect to the painting.

“It survived (by) being enshrined in a building in Atlanta as a symbol of the Lost Cause,” Jones recently told the Picket.

The relocation and restoration of the painting – along with accompanying diorama of plaster figures, artillery pieces and re-created natural elements – is a large undertaking. The Cyclorama closes after June 30 for the work to begin.

(Civil War Picket photos)

Hillary Hardwick with rendering of new atrium

The Atlanta History Center is in the midst of a construction project. A grand façade will usher visitors into the new Allen Atrium and exhibits that will have glass fronts and a feeling of connectiveness. A bistro/café will be located near the Cyclorama.

“It is about being more open, accessible and welcoming,” said Hillary Hardwick, vice president of marketing communications.

Construction of the 23,000-square foot Lloyd and Mary Ann Whitaker Cyclorama wing begins this fall.

Jones and others at the AHC have been busy researching other Cycloramas, hiring the painting restoration company and acquiring or negotiating new exhibits.

During our interview, Jones thumbed through photographs of a few panoramas, many of which are in Europe.

According to the International Panorama Council, about 96 360-degree or 180-degree works or art currently exist in 26 countries. Many of them, interestingly, are in China (a semi-circle depiction of a village on the Yellow River was painted in 2014). 

The cycloramas/panoramas tend to feature great moments in history (Waterloo and Gettysburg, for example) or great natural wonders. Twenty-five of those were created before World War II. The council told the Picket it did not know which venue is the most visited today.

Jones said the Atlanta Cyclorama, made with a Belgian linen backing, is “more intact” than the Gettysburg Cyclorama and a Jerusalem and crucifixion of Christ panorama in Quebec.

The AHC plans to follow other locations’ lead in allowing visitors to venture down to see the rigging and construction elements of the Cyclorama – to see what’s “behind the curtain.”

AHC patrons at certain times will be able to witness ongoing restoration before the new wing officially opens.

But first comes an assessment of the painting at Grant Park and the beginning of restoration later this year. A crew will have to first remove the diorama, including its 138 figures from the 1930s that will be restored.

“Once we are facing the painting we will know what more it needs,” said Jones.

The crew will stabilize the painting and roll it up – very carefully – into two to four rolls.

An ambitious 1979-1982 restoration led by Gustav Berger included the application of epoxy to join the 14 panels. The crew hopes it does not have to cut that adhesion, said Jones.

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” he said.

(Civil War Picket photo)

Another wall or two will have to be busted down for the move of the locomotive Texas, which took part in the Great Locomotive Chase north of Atlanta in 1862.

Hardwick said the AHC plans to document all aspects of the move and restoration, with a focus on communicating through social media.

The little locomotive that could

AHC officials are excited about being able to show off the Cyclorama in the context of their extensive collection of Civil War artifacts, exhibits and documents.

Patrons, before walking to the viewing platform, will be able to see Civil War period photographs and maps.

They’ll also be drawn to the Texas, which was a transportation workhorse for the city for 50 years. “It was building Atlanta,” Jones said of the locomotive. “Here is the artifact that most symbolizes the city.”

The Texas was back in the headlines a couple months ago when word came that politicians and officials in Cobb County and Kennesaw, northwest of Atlanta, indicated they would tried to have the locomotive moved to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, which houses the General, which was chased by the Texas crew. They contend the Texas may belong to the state. Jones and Hardwick said the AHC has documentation proving it was given to the city.

Artist-historian Wilbur Kurtz found the locomotive in a rail yard and it was donated in 1908 to Atlanta, they said.

Hardwick said the story of the Texas, unlike that of the General, will be broader, with a focus on the growth of Atlanta and its critical railroad infrastructure. “The General was lauded as a relic. The Texas was forgotten,” said Jones.

The Texas is in pretty good shape, with some rust damage on the tender. Many of the parts have changed over time, and it was repainted by a Kurtz-led restoration during the 1930s.

“We have to present this as a locomotive whose parts have changed over time,” said Jones.

A wider Atlanta story to be told

AHC officials know visitors are like pinballs, swiftly moving from place to place. So they need to keep them interested.

Visitors will be able to use their smart phones to scan certain parts and figures in the painting for additional information. Curators will reintroduce an interactive display that will allow people to zoom in on Atlanta’s fortifications and streets during the battle. A Google map overlay gives you the modern street perspective. 

Officials want visitors to the Cyclorama wing to have a somewhat nostalgic feel, perhaps through old advertising banners for panoramas.

The painting area will have more consistent lighting than at Grant Park, but there will be no skylights. And while the painting may appear smaller because of its more open setting, the visitor can stay as long as she or he likes to appreciate the creativity and innovation that went into its production.

Interactive map kiosk (Picket photo)

Like many such institutions, the AHC in recent years has used its buildings and spaces for entertainment. Receptions will be held on the mural platform, proving a dramatic backdrop.

A new sound-and-light production likely will be played only once an hour. It will be an “enhancement, not an experience,” said Jones. The top floor will focus on the Atlanta Campaign, including a sword and revolver belonging to Union artillery Capt. Francis DeGress, whose battery held a critical part of the line on July 22, 1864.

But there’s a bigger picture beyond the details of the exhibit details, officials said.

While audiences years ago “were hungry to see what happened in the late unpleasantness 20 years before,” said Jones, today’s Atlanta is a much different place, with an appreciation for diversity and moving beyond pining for the Lost Cause.

Jones cited increased visits from people from Asia. “They think history is cool. It is the story of their new country.”

The AHC wants to tell a fuller story of Atlanta’s history and the story of the painting’s artists and the art form, and how the Cyclorama was interpreted over time.

The addition of the interactive map kiosk adds to the appeal – people can see the battlefield’s area and where they live, shop and play today.

Jones said the AHC wants patrons to go home and do further research.

“This experience is a good start.”

(Atlanta History Center)