New State Library Exhibit Will Take Visitors Back In Time

The Indiana State Library plans to take Hoosiers back 150 years to the Civil War with a new exhibit opening for the summer.

“The Hardship & Hope: The Life of the Hoosier Solider during the Civil War” will give a more personal understanding of the everyday realities from the perspective of a Hoosier soldier.

The exhibit will contain unique letters, photographs, and artifacts from the Library’s collection – many of which have never before been displayed. It will also feature items on loan from the Ruth Lilly Medical Library, the Medical History Museum, and Fred Schaefer’s private collection.

The kickoff for the exhibit is 5-7 p.m. May 8 at the Library. The free event is open to the public with parking available for $5 in the Senate Avenue Garage.

“The opening reception will be a fun, family-friendly way to honor the 150th-anniversary of the American Civil War and kick off the State Library’s latest exhibition,” said interim Indiana State Librarian, Connie Bruder in a press release. “Hardship & Hope will highlight our collection as a treasure trove of historically-significant Civil War materials.”

Special guests at the kickoff will include Civil War historian Michael Peake; Fred Schaefer, CSFA-OS, Civil War Medical Historian; Bernie O’Bryan, Mid States Living History Association, and Lew Wallace interpreter; and re-enactors from the 49th Indiana, Company F. and 18th Light Artillery.

The exhibit officially opens May 9 and will go through August 29.

Erika Brock is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.