The following are more noteworthy State Library collections not featured in the exhibit that relate to the Civil War: • Oliver P. Morton (L113 – 6 mss box collection): Indiana Governor during the Civil War. • John Wilder (L276 – 1 mss box collection): Civil War colonel, his Lightening Brigade was highly successful during the war, in large part to his unit being commissioned with Spencer repeating rifles. • Lew Wallace (L173 – 1 mss box collection): Prior to writing the book Ben Hur, Lew Wallace was a Union General. Collection focuses on defense of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in 1862. • James R. Slack (L145 – 1 mss box collection): Served as Brigadier General for the Union. Collection consists of correspondence to his wife Ann, as well as a diary written during the siege of Mobile, AL, March-May 1865. • Jefferson C. Davis (L41 – 6 mss box collection): Union officer, not CSA President, Davis was stationed at Ft. Sumter when it was attacked, and later joined the 22nd IN Reg. Collection contains military papers while Davis served as quartermaster and correspondence.
Compiled by Brent Abercrombie, Rare Books & Manuscripts Collection Expert
An opening reception kicked off the exhibit on May 8th. Among the special guests and entertainment for the evening included: • Michael Peake, Civil War Historian, presenting his latest publication, Blood Shed in this War, Civil War Illustrations by Captain Adolph Metzner, 32nd Indiana. • Fred Schaefer, CSFA-OS, Civil War Medical Historian, discussing medical history and techniques on the battlefield. • Bernie O’Bryan, Mid States Living History Association & Lew Wallace interpreter. • 49th Indiana, Company F. & 18th Light Artillery reenactors portraying the common soldier’s war perspective with uniforms and special equipment on display, including a Coehorn Mortar. The opening reception was part of Civil War 150, a project organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in partnership with The Library of America, and funded in part through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor. Other exhibit and promotional items are courtesy of the Indiana State Library Foundation. SPRING 2014
Members of 49th Indiana, Company F. interact with exhibit goers.
A collection of rare Civil War manuscripts & photographs.
www.islfoundation.org
Cornerstone
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