The first shots of the Civil War were fired in South Carolina during
April of 1861. Although most of the fighting over the next four years
took place in the South, it eventually spread across the country, all
the way to Wilmington, California.
In 1862, a military outpost was built near
the Los Angeles Harbor. It was called the Drum Barracks and was a key
center for training and processing troops. Today, all that remains is a
single building, which is now a museum with some very unlikely tour
guides.
Marge O’Brien is the museum’s director and curator:
Marge O’Brien is the museum’s director and curator:
“You can lock the rooms at night.
In fact, very religiously. I check all the rooms. They’re locked, the
lights are off, the shades are down, and you come here at 8:00 in the
morning and the light in the parlor might be on and