Be the First to Answer the Call!
Ella Sharp Museum Requests Civil War Artifacts for Exhibit
CONTACT: Maura Øverland, Director of Collections and Exhibits

The Jackson Greys led by their Captain, William H. Withington, were the first group of Michigan soldiers to answer President Lincoln’s call for volunteers to defend the Union in April of 1861.  In the spirit of the Jackson Greys, the Ella Sharp Museum asks that you be the first to
answer the call for objects to be included in the Museum's Civil War exhibition scheduled to open late this summer.  Jackson, while removed from the battlefield, still played an important role in Michigan's participation in the War.  Michigan's Civil War Governor Austin Blair was
from Jackson, and the location of Camp Blair, one of the state's largest Civil War camps here in Jackson, helped to define the city's reputation and development during and after the War.

The upcoming exhibit will focus not only on the many Civil War heroes who were from Jackson, but it will take a closer look at how the city and its residents were affected by the War.  In order to tell a complete story of the Civil War, the Museum wants to look at several people's
experiences, from a foot soldier, to a wife left behind, to a local business owner.  This is where the Ella Sharp Museum needs your help!  The Museum is looking for any materials which might exist in the community that relate to Jackson's involvement in the Civil War, in particular:

Uniforms
Arms (rifles and sabers)
Military accouterments
Drums and bugles
Medical equipment
Souvenirs brought back from the battlefield
Personal objects carried by soldiers
Photographs
Letters, journals and diaries
Enlistment papers
Discharge papers
Medals & ribbons
GAR, Sons of the Union Veterans, Women's Relief Corp
Artifacts and information that document various homefront efforts:
    Ladies Aide Societies
    Role of Churches
    Role of local Civic Groups

Objects related to Jackson during the Civil War period (1861-1865):
    Advertisements
    Trade cards
    Photographs
    Business papers
    Personal objects belonging to residents

If you have any objects that you think the Museum might be interested in borrowing, please contact Maura Øverland at (517) 787-2320 ext. 28 or [log in to unmask]

Heather Price
Ella Sharp Museum
Jackson, Michigan
http://www.ellasharp.org/

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