ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state's pivotal role in the Civil War is being told in a new exhibit opening this weekend in Albany.

The exhibit, titled "An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War," opens this weekend at the New York State Museum and runs through next September.

The exhibit tells how New York state provided the most men, money and supplies for the Union war effort, and highlights the personal stories of some of the nearly 450,000 New Yorkers who fought for the North.

The displays feature artifacts such as firearms and other equipment produced in New York, and the earliest photograph of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who's buried in Rochester.

The exhibit includes objects from the collections of the State Museum, Library and Archives, as well as artifacts from institutions from across New York.