Drum Barracks Civil War Museum

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Drum Barracks Civil War Museum California's Premier Civil War Museum

former Union Army Headquarters during the Civil War The land was sold to the Army by Phineas Banning, and B. D.

The Drum Barracks Civil War Museum - California's Premier Civil War Museum - is housed in the last remaining wooden building of Drum Barracks, named after Adjutant General Richard Coulter Drum, head of the Department of the Pacific. This facility served as the Union Army headquarters in the Southwest (Southern California and the Arizona Territory) from 1861 - 1871. Drum Barracks, which was first called Camp Drum, served as the main staging, training and supply base for military operations in the Southwest, and occupied approximately sixty acres of land with an additional thirty-seven acres near the harbor. Wilson, who each received one dollar, with the agreement that the land would revert back to them after the camp was closed.

10/17/2026

NO TOURS TODAY

Join us on Saturday at 12 pm for the opening of our new permanent exhibition, Give California a Chance to Strike a Blow for the Union: The California 100 & Battalion.
Using maps, photographs, engravings and artifacts, this exhibition will tell the story of 500 California volunteers who went back east to fight for the Union Army during the Civil War as part of the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry.

Join us on Saturday at 12 pm for the opening of our new permanent exhibition, Give California a Chance to Strike a Blow ...
10/16/2026

Join us on Saturday at 12 pm for the opening of our new permanent exhibition, Give California a Chance to Strike a Blow for the Union: The California 100 & Battalion.

Using maps, photographs, engravings and artifacts, this exhibition will tell the story of 500 California volunteers who went back east to fight for the Union during the Civil War as part of the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry.

Doors will open to the public at 12 pm. Regular guided tours will not be offered, but all display rooms will be open with staff on hand to answer questions.

October 17, 2026
12:00 pm
Free Admission, Donations Appreciated

Drum Barracks Civil War Museum
1052 N. Banning Blvd.
Wilmington, CA 90744

No reservations required. For information call 310.548.7509.

#90744

Drum Barracks Civil War Museum is closed today. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
07/04/2026

Drum Barracks Civil War Museum is closed today. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Join us tomorrow at 11:30 am for, “Forging the USCT,” a lecture by Julian Della Puppa. Mr. Della Puppa will talk about t...
06/13/2026

Join us tomorrow at 11:30 am for, “Forging the USCT,” a lecture by Julian Della Puppa. Mr. Della Puppa will talk about the formation of the USCT (United States Colored Troops), from its foundations in local militias, to its formal creation in 1863. He will explore how anti-slavery and abolitionist sentiments assisted in building the regiments that would go on to fight for freedom.

Drum Barracks Research Library will open at 11:00 am for seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
FREE, No Reservations Required.

Tours of Drum Barracks Museum will be offered at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm.

Thank you to all the historians and educators who contributed to today’s Living History Saturday with lectures and displ...
05/09/2026

Thank you to all the historians and educators who contributed to today’s Living History Saturday with lectures and displays.

We are happy to welcome interpreters from the First Native California Cavalry, Company D, for today’s Living History Sat...
05/09/2026

We are happy to welcome interpreters from the First Native California Cavalry, Company D, for today’s Living History Saturday. Drop in to talk to them between 10:30 am and 1 pm, and learn about Spanish-speaking soldiers who served at Drum Barracks during the Civil War.

Free Lecture, Saturday, May 9 at 12 pm. Drum Barracks Research Library. “The Tragic Story of the Doomed Empire of Maximi...
05/08/2026

Free Lecture, Saturday, May 9 at 12 pm. Drum Barracks Research Library. “The Tragic Story of the Doomed Empire of Maximilian and Carlota: The Emperor and Empress of Mexico, by Al Cota Moch.”

As the American Civil War was being fought in the US, France was trying to establish an empire in Mexico, installing Austrian Archduke Maximilian and his wife Charlotte, a Belgian princess, as Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota of the Second Mexican Empire. Maximilian and Carlota arrived in Mexico in 1864. Mr. Moch will talk about the doomed empire, as well as diplomatic relations between Abraham Lincoln, General McClellan, and the French Royal House of Orleans.

First come, first served seating, no reservations required. Library will open for seating at 11:40 am.

05/07/2026
Join us this Saturday, May 9, as we welcome Living History Interpreters from the First Native California Cavalry, Compan...
05/07/2026

Join us this Saturday, May 9, as we welcome Living History Interpreters from the First Native California Cavalry, Company D. Four companies of Spanish-speaking soldiers were formed for the Union Army in California. Find out about their contributions to the Civil War and their time at Drum Barracks. Drop by anytime between 10:30 am - 1:00 pm to speak to our Living History Interpreters. Free, walk-ins welcome!

Photo captions: (Left) Pablo De La Guerra, Salvador Vallejo and Andreas Pico. (Right) California Lancer, by William H. Meyers.

Drum Barracks Civil War Museum will be closed to the public Tuesday, May 5th.
05/04/2026

Drum Barracks Civil War Museum will be closed to the public Tuesday, May 5th.

Address

1052 N Banning Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA
90744

Telephone

(310) 548-7509

Website

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