Founded in 1991, the Civil War Soldiers Museum details the turbulent time in the nation's history through a diverse collection and interpretive video presentation.

The exhibits were originally the private collection of a local doctor who began searching for artifacts around the Antietam battlefield as a boy.

The collection has grown to include one of the nation's largest displays of medical equipment used during the Civil War, personal effects of Stephen R Mallory, the Confederate Secretary of the Navy, uniforms, weapons, equipment and mementos belonging to regular soldiers and the handmade First National Confederate flag captured during the Battle of Santa Rosa Island in 1861.

From the Civil War Soldiers Museum, take Interstate 110 south to Pensacola Beach, then west along State Route 399 to Fort Pickens, an early nineteenth century fort built by slaves, saw action during the Civil War and was used as a goal for Geronimo and sixteen other Apache prisoners in the 1880s.

Big Lagoon State Recreation Area on Gulf Beach Highway offers 678 acres (275 hectares) of natural habitat for birds, animals and waterfowl as well as facilities for boating, bird watching and hiking, and an observation tower with a spectacular view.