A former Ball State trustee donated his collection of 150-year-old Civil War artifacts to the university, which are part of a new exhibit in the Alexander M. Bracken Library.
Frank Bracken, a former Ball State trustee, donated the artifacts, which are on display in the Archives and Special Collections room.
Following the opening of the exhibit, the library's professor of history Nicole Etcheson, gave a lecture on how the Civil War changed Indiana.
“There’s something about seeing the actual sword and uniform that takes you into the experience,” Etcheson said. “You don’t realize when you look at the uniform, but you can see that it’s wool. Soldiers wore those in July in Georgia and Virginia. That should tell you something about what was it like to be on campaign and to be marching miles and miles everyday.”
Etcheson also wrote a book, "A Generation At War," which studied how the Civil War affected Putnam County, Indiana.
She said there were not many case studies about the North – most of the studies that were done were about cities, like Chicago and Philadelphia. Because 90 percent of Americans lived in rural farm areas at the time, Etcheson thought she should look into an area like that.
“I did the book to look at a sort of typical northern community and use it to understand how the civil war changed the north,” Etcheson said.
In her lecture, Etcheson focused on a few case studies she looked at in her book, including soldiers and women.
Etcheson said students interested in the civil war would be able to do a lot of research with the books and artifacts Bracken left. She said Bracken was interested in historic and battle field preservation.
President Paul Ferguson introduced Etcheson before her lecture. He said because he has lived in every region of the United States, one common theme him and his wife have encountered was the Civil War.
“In our history, the Civil War has such a deep meaning for us and brings out unique themes,” he said. “We all relate to that. It really is a special moment for us to celebrate this.”
Nancy Turner, the former head of archives and special collections, came to see Etcheson speak because she is a history buff and had family in the Civil War.
She said Etcheson did a “wonderful” job and she researched her story well and talked about it in an easy to understand way.
Turner said she thought it was important to have exhibits like this at universities because students can’t decide what to do with the future if they don’t know about the past.
“Exhibits and lectures like these show the past,” Turner said. “I’m not sure if children are hearing the stories they should be.”
Read More
MPD and BSU PD investigate shooting in 900 Block of W Carson St
By Staff Reports / 6 hours agoMuncie Police Department (MPD) and the Ball State University Police (BSU PD) are investigating a shooting in 900 Block of W Carson St, according to a message sent out early morning of Nov. 2.
Ball State field hockey clinches 5th seed in MAC Tournament with win against Bellarmine
By Kyle Smedley / 8 hours agoThe Cardinals beat the Knights 2-1 in the culmination of a roller coaster regular season.
Miller Phillips hits 100 MAC wins as Carindals dispatch of Eastern Michigan
By Daniel Kehn / 10 hours agoBall State sweeps Eastern Michigan as head coach Kelli Miller Phillips earned her 100th MAC win with the victory.
