Reading about history is one way to learn. But holding a bullet or coin that was held by a soldier more than 100 years ago brings history home in a way words cannot.

On Feb. 18, the Wareham Historical Society invited town attorney Rich Bowen to show off some Civil War artifacts from his collection, and discuss what the everyday soldier carried with him during the war.

“I worry that we’re raising a video game generation, and the suffering people went through to make the country what it is gets lost,” said Bowen.

Civil War veterans are all dead and buried, making “hands-on history” lessons the closest anyone on the Earth today can get to shaking hands with one of them.

According to Bowen, New England was key in providing weapons and munitions to Union soldiers during the war, and there are some local connections to the war.

“The bogs around here are a wonderful source of iron for shovels and swords,” Bowen said. “This was the center of high-quality manufacturing in the United States.”

Bowen’s son, Ryan, was on hand to help his dad present the weapons, money, and other artifacts. At one point, Ryan even simulated the loading of a rifle, which was a much more laborious process during the Civil War.

Bowen paused to remind the audience that the Civil War-era guns can be legally purchased without a license, and that none of the weapons was loaded.

“We’re not breaking the law," he said.

Bowen noted that the Confederacy bought a lot of its weapons from Britain, while the Union looked to France for some of its weaponry. He also discussed how Confederate ship the USS Alabama would attack whaling boats out of New Bedford and Provincetown.

“This war is more than something that happened far away," he said. "It happened right off our shore.”

Bowen was asked to speak by Angela Dunham, vice president of the Historical Society.

"Richard is a very eloquent gentleman," said Dunham. "I think his passion for the subject came through."