{"exhibit":{"title":"Why was the Mall important during the Civil War? ","description":"<p>During the Civil War, Washington was busy with activity in the Capitol, the White House, and directly on the Mall. To defend the city from attack, the Union Army established a headquarters near the White House and Union troops were present on the Mall from 1860 to 1865. The military built temporary facilities on the Mall to house, feed, care for, and supply thousands of troops stationed in Washington and for wounded coming in from Virginia battlefields. American writer Walt Whitman published his experiences of visiting the wounded, bringing stories of the Civil War in Washington and on the Mall to millions of readers.<\/p>","credits":"","featured":0,"public":1,"theme":"","theme_options":null,"slug":"civilwar","added":"2013-04-24 11:58:49","modified":"2013-10-15 13:23:13","owner_id":4,"use_summary_page":1,"cover_image_file_id":null,"id":29},"item":{"item_type_id":6,"collection_id":null,"featured":0,"public":1,"added":"2013-03-05 10:04:36","modified":"2015-10-05 11:35:57","owner_id":5,"id":237}}