Image by Wandering Kentucky
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In a city full of gracious Federal style buildings, the imposing red brick fortress crowning a Frankfort hilltop looks surprisingly sinister – like something out of a 19th century Gothic novel.
It becomes less surprising, and somehow more appropriate, when one realizes that what is now the Kentucky Military History Museum began in 1850 as the Kentucky State Arsenal, and during the Civil War served as a munitions factory and a regional supply center for Union troops from the Midwest.
Today, the museum, which comes under the umbrella of the Kentucky Historical Society, is taxed with safeguarding the commonwealth’s military treasures, and acquainting visitors with its rich military history.
During the Revolutionary War period, Kentucky was still part of Virginia, but once it gained statehood in 1792, it came out fighting (literally).
Just to whet your appetite for a museum visit, here are some nuggets about that rich history.
* The commonwealth provided more soldiers in the War of 1812 than any other state.
* During the Civil War, Kentucky may have been Switzerland – officially remaining neutral – but that doesn’t mean the state sat the war out. Kentucky was deeply divided, with approximately 35,000 soldiers fighting for the Confederacy and more than double that number for the Union.
Additionally, two of the most important battles of the war took place in Kentucky – the Battle of Richmond and the Battle of Perryville.
* Sixty Kentuckians have received the Medal of Honor since it was first presented in 1863.
It wasn’t the state’s military history that was preventing the museum from taking its place among Frankfort’s best visitor experiences.
After all, where are you going to find treasures such as Mexican General Santa Anna’s two brass boullion, gold and silver shoulder epaulets, part of his wardrobe confiscated in Puebla, Mexico in 1848 (hint: it’s not the Alamo in San Antonio)?
Or a print from a wood engraving of a sketch entitled “The Fight of the Licking Bridge,” depicting the 1864 skirmish in Cynthiana between Union troops and native Kentuckian John Hunt Morgan’s Raiders?
Or a plaque from the cell at the Bavarian prison where Adolph Hitler wrote Mein Kampf while incarcerated in 1923? After the prison was taken by the Allies in 1945, one crafty American colonel – Donovan A. Yeuell from Harrodsburg “souvenired” the plaque and had it shipped to Kentucky. Visitors can still see the nicks from the 60-pound plaque where Col. Yeuell wrenched it off the wall.
No, it wasn’t the scope and historical relevance of the collection that was the problem, as proven by the museum’s status as an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
The problem was that the physical condition of the 176-year-old building didn’t match the quality of its exhibitions.
That situation was remedied during a renovation effort that saw the building close to the public for an extensive makeover. That makeover included a roof repair, upgrades to the HVAC system and various other interior improvements.
After nearly a year, the museum re-opened on Veterans Day of 2025. Visitors can once again take a self-guided walk through the commonwealth’s military history, or they can gather at 1:00 p.m. for the daily 15-minute highlight tour.
It will take you much more than 15 minutes, however, to see all the exhibits which range from colorful flags to wicked looking weapons of war.
Tickets, priced from $6 to $8, must be purchased online or at the Kentucky History Center, and are good for admission to the Military Museum, History Center and the Old State Capitol.
