NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH FREE MOVIE SCREENING AND POPCORN

The National Museum of Health and Medicine celebrates Black History Month in February by presenting "Glory," an Academy-Award winning film based on the true story of the Union's all-black 54th Regiment during the Civil War. The film will be shown in two parts at noon on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15. Admission and popcorn are free.

"Glory" tells the story of the struggle of the regiment's black soldiers to defeat prejudice and neglect to prove themselves in battle. Matthew Broderick plays the white commander of the 54th. Denzel Washington won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. In addition to placing a special exhibit of 54th Regiment specimens on display while the film is being shown, the museum also invites visitors to examine several artifacts on permanent display that highlight the suffering of black soldiers during the Civil War. Located in the museum's exhibit, "To Bind Up the Nation's Wounds: Medicine During the Civil War," are:

• The elbow of Noah Horner, a private in the 2nd U.S. Colored Troops, who was accidentally shot in the right arm while on guard duty in October 1863 at Camp Casey on Masons Island in Virginia. His arm was amputated shortly after the injury and he was discharged in November 1863.
• The hand bones of Corporal I. P. Miller of the 6th U.S. Colored Troops, who was wounded in the right middle finger in June 1864 and died in July 1864 after experiencing severe chills and delirium following amputation of the finger.
• A photograph of Neil Wicks, a private in Company C of the U.S. Colored Troops, who in 1865 suffered from scabies, a highly contagious condition caused by a mite, resulting in itchy pustules on the skin.
• Among the most popular anatomical specimens and historical artifacts on permanent display in the exhibit are those related to President Abraham Lincoln, whose approval of the 13th amendment on Feb. 1, 1865 abolished slavery. These include the bullet that ended Lincoln's life, the probe used to locate the bullet, the blood-stained cuffs from the museum surgeon who attended the autopsy, and bone fragments from Lincoln's skull.

  The museum also offers visitors the opportunity to explore the black experience during the Civil War by accessing a computer terminal with a section about slavery in the United States. One of the more interesting links is to an audio program of two ex-slaves recorded in the 1940s who sing songs from the slave era.
  
  

  	The elbow of Noah Horner, a private in the 2nd U.S. Colored Troops, is on display during Black History Month at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C. Horner was accidentally shot in the right arm while on guard duty in October 1863 at Camp Casey on Masons Island in Virginia.
  	The hand bones of Corporal I. P. Miller of the 6th U.S. Colored Troops are on display during Black History Month at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C. Miller was wounded in the right middle finger in June 1864 and died in July 1864 after experiencing severe chills and delirium following amputation of the finger.
  	A photograph of Neil Wicks, who suffered from a highly contagious condition caused by a mite called scabies, is on display during Black History Month at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C. Wicks was a private during the Civil War in Company C of the U.S. Colored Troops.