Explore Missouri’s Civil War – key battles, divided loyalties, guerrilla raids, and the rivers and railroads that shaped the conflict.
Missouri’s Civil War – Border Battles, Guerrillas, and Life on the Frontlines
Missouri’s Civil War story is unlike any other. As a border state with divided loyalties, strategic rivers, and vital railroads, it saw fierce battles, guerrilla raids, and a war that touched families and communities alike. This Q&A guide explores the key people, places, and events that defined Missouri’s experience during the conflict.
Part I – The Big Picture
Q1: Why was Missouri so important in the Civil War?
Missouri’s Civil War significance stemmed from its strategic location, resources, and transportation networks. The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers were vital arteries for moving troops, supplies, and intelligence, making control of the state essential for the Union’s western campaigns. St. Louis, home to the federal arsenal, machine shops, and James B. Eads’s shipyard, became a logistical hub, producing ironclads and other critical equipment. Railroads, though limited, connected St. Louis to Rolla and Springfield, with the Wire Road serving as a key but vulnerable supply line. Protecting these routes from guerrilla attacks was crucial to maintaining the Union’s military advantage.
Missouri was also a border state with a deeply divided population. Southern heritage dominated, but nearly a third of the population were northern-born settlers or German immigrants, creating internal tensions. Bleeding Kansas had already foreshadowed the guerrilla warfare and local conflicts that would intensify once the Civil War began. Abraham Lincoln recognized Missouri’s strategic weight, saying, “I must have Kentucky… Missouri was just as critical.” Losing the state would have fractured the Union’s western flank and handed the Confederacy control of key rivers, railroads, and supplies. Missouri’s vast population, agricultural wealth, and industrial capacity made it a prize worth defending, ensuring its central role in the conflict.
Q2: How did Missouri’s Civil War differ from other states?
Missouri’s Civil War experience was unique because it remained in the Union but had dual governments: a Union-backed provisional government and a Confederate-aligned “government in exile” led by Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson. The state sent representatives to both Congresses, reflecting its split identity.
The population’s loyalties were intensely divided. Unionists, Confederates, guerrillas, German immigrants, and enslaved people often lived side by side. Families were torn apart, and over 1,200 engagements occurred across the state, making Missouri one of the most fought-over regions after Virginia and Tennessee. Guerrilla warfare blurred the lines between soldier and civilian, with bushwhacker raids, retaliatory killings, and General Order No. 11’s forced depopulation of four counties illustrating the brutal, ongoing nature of conflict. Unlike the slower-moving battles of the Eastern Theater, Missouri’s war was intimate, pervasive, and relentless, affecting communities, families, and daily life long after major battles had ended.
Part II – Military & Strategy
Q3: What was the timeline of Missouri’s Civil War?
1861: The War Begins
May 10 – Camp Jackson Affair: Union troops clash with pro-secession militia in St. Louis, sparking riots and hardening loyalties.
June 15 – Union captures Jefferson City, forcing Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson to flee.
June 17 – Battle of Boonville: Quick Union victory secures control of the Missouri River.
July 5 – Battle of Carthage: Missouri State Guard wins early skirmish.
August 10 – Battle of Wilson’s Creek: Confederate victory; Union General Nathaniel Lyon killed—the first Union general to die in combat.
September 13–20 – Battle of Lexington (Hemp Bales): Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard uses soaked hemp bales as mobile shields to force Union surrender.
October 28 – Secessionist government votes to join Confederacy; Missouri now has dual governments.
1862: Strategic Maneuvers
March 7–8 – Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern): Union forces under Samuel R. Curtis defeat a larger Confederate force, securing Missouri’s hold for the Union.
February–April – Island No. 10 Campaign: Union forces secure key Mississippi River position near New Madrid.
October 27 – Battle of Island Mound: First known combat involving African American troops (1st Kansas Colored Volunteers).
1863: Guerrilla War Intensifies
August 25 – General Order No. 11: Union forces forcibly evacuate four western counties to suppress guerrilla activity.
October – Palmyra Massacre: Union executes 10 Confederate prisoners in retaliation for guerrilla actions.
1864: Price’s Raid & Bloody Missouri
September–October – Sterling Price’s Invasion: Confederate forces sweep through Missouri, culminating in the Battle of Westport (Oct 23)—the largest battle west of the Mississippi.
September 27 – Centralia Massacre: Bloody Bill Anderson’s guerrillas kill over 100 Union troops in one of the war’s most brutal ambushes.
1865: War Ends, Memory Begins
January 11 – Missouri abolishes slavery, ahead of the 13th Amendment.
April 8 – Drake Constitution passed: Establishes harsh loyalty oaths and reshapes postwar politics.
Q4: How did rivers and railroads shape Missouri’s Civil War?
Missouri’s rivers and railroads were lifelines for both Union and Confederate forces. The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers acted as strategic highways for troops, supplies, and communication, central to the Union’s Anaconda Plan. Key victories at Island No. 10, New Madrid, and Vicksburg secured river control and disrupted Confederate logistics.
Railroads, though limited, were equally vital. By 1860, Missouri had 800+ miles of track, including the Pacific Railroad and Hannibal & St. Joseph lines. The Wire Road and Southwest Branch of the Pacific Railroad connected St. Louis to Rolla and Springfield, but these routes were vulnerable to guerrilla sabotage. Union forces had to guard supply lines carefully, with supplies often taking over a week to reach front-line troops.
St. Louis served as the logistical heart of the western theater. Its arsenal, machine shops, and Eads’s shipyard produced weapons, ironclads, and essential supplies. The city’s German-American population provided a strong pro-Union base, helping secure this key hub early in the war. Control of Missouri’s rivers and railroads was not just strategic—it determined which side could sustain campaigns in the Trans-Mississippi West.
Q5: Who were the key leaders in Missouri’s Civil War?
Union forces were led by figures like Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general killed in combat at Wilson’s Creek. Lyon’s aggressive moves at the St. Louis arsenal, Camp Jackson, and Boonville helped secure Missouri for the Union early in the war. Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel, a German revolutionary, rallied German-American support with his famous motto, “I fights mit Sigel,” and commanded troops at Carthage, Wilson’s Creek, and Pea Ridge, boosting immigrant enlistment and morale.
Confederate-aligned leadership included Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, former Missouri governor and commander of the Missouri State Guard. Price led key victories at Lexington and Wilson’s Creek and later attempted the ambitious Price Raid of 1864. Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson, though elected moderate, secretly plotted secession and directed a Confederate government-in-exile. The Missouri State Guard, organized by Jackson and led by Price, fought alongside Confederate forces in early engagements despite limited weapons and training.
Other notable figures include Union General Samuel R. Curtis, victorious at Pea Ridge; Confederate General Ben McCulloch, Price’s ally at Wilson’s Creek; and Thomas C. Reynolds, Jackson’s lieutenant governor, who led the Confederate government-in-exile. Missouri’s leaders embodied the state’s fractured identity, with divided loyalties, dual governments, and armies fighting over the same terrain.
Q6: What were the major battles in Missouri and nearby?
Missouri saw numerous key engagements, from small skirmishes to major battles shaping the state’s fate. Early clashes included Boonville (June 17, 1861) and Cole Camp (June 19, 1861), signaling the struggle for control. Carthage (July 5, 1861) and Wilson’s Creek (Aug 10, 1861) marked larger confrontations, with Lyon killed at the latter. The Battle of Lexington (Sept 13–20, 1861) showcased the Missouri State Guard using hemp bales as mobile shields.
Though fought in Arkansas, Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862) was decisive for Missouri, securing Union control for years. Later, guerrilla violence and Price’s Raid brought Glasgow (Oct 15, 1864), Pilot Knob/Fort Davidson (Sept 27, 1864), and the Centralia Massacre (Sept 27, 1864), highlighting Missouri’s brutal internal war. The campaign culminated in the Battle of Westport (Oct 23, 1864), the largest battle west of the Mississippi.
Each battle reflected Missouri’s divided loyalties, guerrilla chaos, and the strategic importance of rivers and railroads. From early state guard skirmishes to large-scale engagements, these fights shaped the course of Missouri’s Civil War and left lasting scars on its communities.
Q7: What was the significance of Missouri’s forts and strongholds?
Missouri’s forts weren’t just military posts—they were lifelines of control in a divided state. At Fort Davidson, Union Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing Jr. and his vastly outnumbered garrison held off repeated Confederate assaults during Price’s 1864 raid. Their resistance saved St. Louis, cost the Confederates dearly, and forced Price to turn west—leading to his defeat at Westport.
Beyond the battlefield, river fortifications along the Mississippi and Missouri safeguarded supply routes and troop movements. These forts protected iron ore shipments that fueled St. Louis shipyards, which built the Union’s ironclad fleet. St. Louis itself, anchored by its arsenal and machine shops, became the Union’s logistical hub for the entire Western Theater. Smaller outposts guarded railroads, crossings, and vulnerable communities against guerrilla attacks.
In short, Missouri’s forts weren’t just walls and cannons—they were pressure points of power, shaping the war’s outcome in the West.
Part III – Society & the Home Front
Q8: How divided were Missouri’s families and communities?
Few places felt the Civil War’s fracture more deeply than Missouri households. Families often split down the middle: one son wearing Union blue, another Confederate gray. The Barnhart brothers fought on opposite sides at Elkhorn Tavern, while the Jonas family—friends of Abraham Lincoln—sent five sons to the Confederacy and one to the Union. Even Lincoln intervened personally when family tragedy struck.
Division extended beyond the home. Along the Missouri–Kansas border, shifting loyalties and guerrilla raids blurred the line between friend and foe. Union authorities imposed loyalty oaths and harsh measures like General Order No. 11, which forcibly emptied four counties to choke off guerrilla support. Even churches fractured, with congregations splitting into Unionist and Confederate pulpits.
Missouri’s war was as much about divided living rooms and shattered communities as it was about muskets and battlefields—leaving scars that lingered long after the war ended.
Q9: How did slavery and emancipation play out in Missouri?
Missouri was a paradox during the Civil War: a slave state that never seceded. By 1860, more than 114,000 people were enslaved, concentrated in the western border counties. Slavery here wasn’t just tied to farming—it extended into river work, mining, and domestic labor. Union troops often marched past slave cabins, creating a strange reality where freedom and bondage coexisted.
As the war dragged on, the system cracked. Enslaved Missourians ran away in growing numbers, while Union policies like the Confiscation Acts weakened slavery’s hold. Radical Republicans eventually took charge, and on January 11, 1865, Missouri abolished slavery—months before the 13th Amendment. But emancipation brought new struggles. Black Missourians faced violence, political exclusion, and hardship, even as they built schools, communities, and institutions like Lincoln University, founded by Black Union veterans in 1866.
Q10: What was life like for civilians caught in the middle?
For civilians, Missouri’s Civil War was chaos. Guerrilla fighters and militia raids blurred the line between soldier and noncombatant. Crops were burned, homes raided, and families displaced—especially after General Order No. 11 emptied four western counties in 1863. Even holidays weren’t safe: at the Wilson Massacre, Union cavalry struck a Christmas gathering, killing soldiers and civilians alike.
Women often carried the heaviest burdens. They ran farms and businesses, smuggled supplies, sheltered fugitives, and sometimes spied for one side or the other. Some, like Louisa Campbell, guided enslaved people to freedom. Others, like Mary Whitney Phelps, safeguarded Union dead and were honored for their bravery. The war tested communities to their breaking point, but also revealed resilience. Missouri’s civilians weren’t bystanders—they were survivors navigating a war that divided not just armies, but families and neighborhoods.
Q11: How did immigrants shape Missouri’s Civil War story?
German immigrants played a defining role in Missouri’s Civil War experience. By 1860, over half of the state’s immigrant population came from German-speaking Europe, concentrated in St. Louis, Hermann, and the Missouri River valley. Many were refugees of the failed 1848 revolutions, carrying with them liberal, antislavery, and pro-democracy ideals.
In St. Louis, German-language newspapers, churches, and Turner societies (clubs blending athletics, politics, and militia training) rallied support for the Union. These groups became crucial in May 1861, when German volunteers helped foil the pro-Confederate seizure of the St. Louis Arsenal during the Camp Jackson Affair.
Franz Sigel, a former revolutionary and educator, became the most visible symbol of German-American loyalty. His slogan—“I fights mit Sigel”—inspired thousands of German recruits across the Midwest. At Wilson’s Creek, Sigel led regiments of German Missourians in a bold flanking maneuver. Though his attack collapsed, German regiments continued to fight in key battles like Pea Ridge, securing Missouri for the Union.
Beyond the battlefield, German Missourians built enduring institutions: breweries, schools, civic groups, and political organizations. Their wartime loyalty and postwar activism shaped Missouri’s Unionist identity and left a legacy that extended into Reconstruction-era debates over civil rights.
Part IV – The Shadow War
Q12: What role did spies and underground networks play in Missouri?
Missouri was a hotbed of espionage, with both Union and Confederate agents weaving an underground war through ciphers, couriers, and coded newspapers. Operatives relied on pigpen ciphers, Vigenère encryption, and even crossed-letter writing to conceal intelligence. Telegraph operators inserted null words and fake phrases to throw off enemy interceptors.
Safehouses dotted the state: Union scouts and freedom seekers found shelter in German-American communities and abolitionist homes, while Confederate sympathizers used churches, boarding houses, and riverboats to pass supplies and messages. Women frequently carried intelligence—sometimes hidden in clothing or even hair braids.
Newspapers themselves became tools of espionage. German-language presses in St. Louis backed the Union, while others quietly slipped coded references to Southern readers. Too much bias in either direction could result in arrest—or a hostile mob.
St. Louis, with its arsenal, railroads, and river traffic, emerged as the spy capital of the West. Union officer Nathaniel Lyon allegedly disguised himself as a farm woman to scout Camp Jackson, while captured Confederate agents filled the Gratiot Street Prison, some tunneling their way to freedom. For both sides, Missouri’s divided loyalties made it fertile ground for espionage, sabotage, and propaganda.
Q13: How did newspapers and propaganda shape the conflict?
Missouri’s press was a weapon as powerful as any musket. Newspapers openly declared allegiance—Unionist titles like the Missouri Democrat and Anzeiger des Westens (German-language) pushed abolition and loyalty to Lincoln, while the Missouri Republican and smaller border-town papers leaned Southern, warning of federal overreach.
Editors became targets. Arrests, mob attacks, and smashed printing presses were common, especially in contested towns where shifting the editorial line could mean survival.
Propaganda took many forms. Union envelopes, broadsides, and almanacs carried patriotic slogans and abolitionist imagery into homes and army camps. Confederate writers leaned on fear—warning of Northern tyranny, racial upheaval, and cultural erasure. Recruitment ads, political cartoons, and even poetry stoked passion while vilifying the enemy.
St. Louis, the print capital of the West, became the key battleground. Its German-language press was vital in rallying immigrants after the Camp Jackson Affair. Dispatches from the city echoed far beyond Missouri, shaping narratives in New York, Richmond, and even London.
The war of words framed loyalty, justified violence, and left scars that lingered in Missouri politics long after the shooting stopped.
Q14: Were there any well-known spies?
Espionage in Missouri blended disguise, daring, and everyday deception. Women, in particular, proved invaluable. Mary Ann “Mollie Hayes” Pittman smuggled intelligence under multiple identities—even posing as a Confederate lieutenant—before switching sides to report on Sterling Price’s army and guerrilla leaders. Teen courier Bettie Duvall, while not Missouri-based, mirrored the tactics seen in border counties, famously concealing a ciphered message in her hair to slip through Union lines.
Union scouts were equally bold. Charles A. McNair (“Agent Three”) tracked Confederate forces in southwest Missouri. Major R.K. Hart spied on enemy camps near Dug Springs for Nathaniel Lyon just before Wilson’s Creek. And Spencer Kellogg Brown, born into an abolitionist family, operated along the Missouri-Kansas border until captured and executed in 1863.
St. Louis anchored the state’s spy networks. Union leaders like Lyon and Allan Pinkerton relied on disguises and informants to monitor secessionist plots. Women smuggled notes in hoop skirts and egg baskets. African Americans and Native Americans—often overlooked by both sides—moved more freely across lines, gathering and relaying vital intelligence.
In Missouri, espionage wasn’t just cloak-and-dagger intrigue—it was daily survival in a divided land.
Part V – Guerrilla Warfare
Q15: Why was guerrilla warfare in Missouri so brutal?
Guerrilla warfare in Missouri’s Civil War was among the most savage in the nation. The roots stretched back to the Bleeding Kansas conflict of the 1850s, when pro-slavery Missourians and anti-slavery Kansans clashed in raids that blurred the line between war and banditry.
Unlike formal armies, guerrillas wore no uniforms and followed no rules. They ambushed patrols, disguised themselves as soldiers, and targeted civilians. Captured fighters were often executed, fueling endless cycles of revenge.
Key figures included William Quantrill, who led the 1863 Lawrence Massacre that killed nearly 200 men and boys in Kansas, and “Bloody Bill” Anderson, notorious for the 1864 Centralia Massacre where dozens of unarmed Union soldiers were executed. The James brothers, Jesse and Frank, also rode with Anderson, carrying the guerrilla legacy into their postwar outlaw careers.
Adding to the violence were Unionist “Jayhawkers” from Kansas, who raided Missouri towns like Osceola, provoking retaliatory strikes. In this climate, the war became deeply personal—more about vengeance and survival than strategy.
Q16: How did the Union respond to guerrilla warfare?
The Union answered Missouri’s guerrilla war with harsh countermeasures. Cavalry units launched retaliatory raids, striking suspected guerrilla camps, seizing supplies, and punishing civilians accused of aiding bushwhackers.
Union commanders increasingly adopted “hard war” tactics—destroying crops, burning homes, and forcing civilians to swear loyalty oaths. Prisoners were sometimes executed in retaliation, as seen in the Palmyra Massacre (1862), when ten Confederate prisoners were shot after a Union man went missing.
The most infamous measure was General Order No. 11, issued in 1863 after Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence. It forced the depopulation of four western Missouri counties, leaving behind the barren “Burnt District.” While guerrilla activity declined, thousands of civilians—both loyalist and secessionist—were displaced.
The Union’s response blurred the line between justice and vengeance. By targeting the guerrillas’ support networks, they hoped to end the violence, but in doing so left lasting scars on Missouri’s Civil War memory.
Q17: How did civilians cope with endless raids and violence?
For civilians, Missouri’s Civil War was relentless. With over 1,200 engagements, few places were safe from raids, skirmishes, or guerrilla attacks. Many families were displaced multiple times, sometimes fleeing to caves, makeshift camps, or neighboring states.
The harshest blow came with General Order No. 11 (1863), which forced the evacuation of four western Missouri counties after Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas. Known as the “Burnt District,” this area was left in ashes as homes were burned and thousands of civilians uprooted.
Survival demanded constant adaptation. Families hid valuables in wells or fields, posted lookouts, and used coded signals to warn neighbors of approaching raiders. Women and children often carried the burden—tending farms, protecting property, or negotiating with armed men from both sides. In German-American communities especially, locals organized defense groups to resist bushwhackers.
The emotional toll was immense. Letters and diaries describe nights of terror, children hiding under floorboards, and families grieving lost loved ones. Yet, amid destruction, many civilians showed resilience—rebuilding farms, recording their stories, and passing on the memory of Missouri’s divided home front.
Part VI – Legacy & Memory
Q18: What role did Missouri continue to play after the big battles moved east?
Even after major campaigns shifted east, Missouri remained critical to the Union war effort. Its railroads and riverways formed a lifeline for supplies moving into Arkansas and the western theater. St. Louis became a hub of logistics, with depots, shipyards, and the ironclads of James B. Eads fueling Union dominance along the Mississippi River.
But Missouri was far from peaceful. Guerrilla warfare surged in 1864, led by figures like Bloody Bill Anderson and William Quantrill. Violence peaked with the Centralia Massacre and Price’s Raid, which brought pitched battles and chaos across the state. Even after Lee’s surrender in 1865, some guerrilla bands refused to disband, prolonging instability.
Missouri’s role went beyond battlefields. Its divided loyalties and constant unrest forced the Union to keep troops stationed locally, draining resources. After the war, Missouri became a testing ground for Reconstruction policies, including harsh loyalty oaths and the Drake Constitution, shaping its political landscape for decades.
In short, Missouri’s Civil War didn’t end when the spotlight shifted east—it remained a contested, violent, and strategically vital state to the very end.
Q19: How is Missouri’s Civil War remembered today?
Missouri has embraced its Civil War legacy through battlefields, museums, folklore, and heritage tourism. Visitors can walk preserved grounds, follow driving trails, or explore museums that connect local stories to the larger conflict.
At Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, near Republic, the rolling hills and the historic Ray House bring the 1861 battle vividly to life. The Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site (Fort Davidson) preserves the memory of the desperate 1864 defense that blunted Price’s Raid. The Battle of Lexington State Historic Site features the Anderson House and original earthworks, showing how the war unfolded in towns and backyards. Smaller places—like the Bloomfield Civil War Cemetery and local museums—offer quieter spaces for reflection.
Missouri’s Civil War Heritage Foundation keeps memory alive through curated driving routes such as the Gray Ghosts Trail and the U.S. Grant Trail, highlighting guerrilla warfare and Union strategy. The Military Trails of Missouri program links a dozen museums and battlefields with a keepsake “passport” for travelers.
Folklore also plays a role. From Jesse James’ boyhood home to tales of haunted courthouses and hidden tunnels, storytelling mixes myth with history. Living memory thrives through reenactments, trolley tours, and battlefield hikes. Museums like the National Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield connect Missouri’s Civil War story to the national stage.
Today, Missouri remembers the war not only in monuments, but also in the way communities invite visitors to experience history—active, layered, and still debated.
Q20: Why is Missouri’s Civil War history often overlooked nationally?
Despite its strategic importance, Missouri’s Civil War rarely gets the same attention as battles in Virginia, Pennsylvania, or Georgia. Several factors explain why.
First, the Eastern Theater dominated national memory. Newspapers focused on Lee, Grant, and McClellan, while Missouri’s guerrilla warfare and fragmented campaigns seemed less dramatic than Gettysburg or Antietam. Even Western victories like Vicksburg were overshadowed by Eastern events.
Second, Missouri’s conflict was messy and decentralized. With over 1,200 engagements, dual governments, and endless raids, the story lacked a single, clean narrative. Guerrilla warfare and neighbor-against-neighbor violence were harder to romanticize and teach compared to sweeping field battles. The Trans-Mississippi Theater as a whole was dismissed as peripheral, even though it shaped control of the Mississippi and supply lines westward.
Yet telling Missouri’s story matters. The state was a strategic keystone: home to the St. Louis arsenal, a launching point for Union campaigns, and contributor of more than 150,000 soldiers to both sides. It was also a human tragedy, marked by burned farms, massacres, and divided families.
Missouri’s war still echoes in the state’s identity today. Recognizing its role expands our understanding of the Civil War beyond the spotlight of the East—and reminds us that the war was truly national, touching every community.
Why Missouri’s Civil War Still Matters
Missouri’s Civil War was more than scattered battles and guerrilla raids—it was a struggle that shaped families, communities, and the nation itself. The state stood at the crossroads of North and South, where loyalties were tested and landscapes scarred. From Wilson’s Creek to Centralia, Missouri endured over 1,200 engagements, making it second only to Virginia in Civil War clashes.
Yet Missouri’s Civil War is often overlooked in the larger national story. The spotlight has long been on the Eastern Theater, but Missouri’s experience reveals the war’s deeper complexities: divided households, shifting borders, and the rise of guerrilla conflict that blurred the line between soldier and civilian. Remembering Missouri’s Civil War means remembering that the war was not only fought on distant battlefields but also in small towns, farmsteads, and neighborhoods.
Today, Missouri invites us to walk its battlefields, explore its museums, and reflect on the legacy of a divided state. These sites are not just markers of the past—they are reminders of resilience, sacrifice, and the costs of disunion.
By revisiting Missouri’s Civil War, we gain a fuller picture of America’s greatest conflict—one that proves the war’s story is not just about famous generals in the East but also about the ordinary Missourians who lived, fought, and endured in the heart of the nation.
Keep Missouri’s Civil War Memory Alive
If Missouri’s Civil War has sparked your interest, the best way to honor the past is to visit the battlefields, walk the trails, and support the museums and preservation groups that keep this history alive. Every tour, donation, and shared story helps protect these sites for future generations—while giving you the chance to stand where history was made.
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