For the past year, Brian Grubbs, project manager of a new web site, "Community & Conflict: The Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks," and Associate Historian Teresa Hernandez, have been gathering artifacts, photographs, documents and other materials from people and institutions in the area.

This past week they were excited to receive two original letters written by a Macon, Missouri, farmer to his wife. He was asking his wife to solicit petitions signed by their neighbors attesting that he was a Union loyalist and had never been a secessionist. He had been kidnapped by Confederate soldiers, forced to join them and captured and jailed by the Union army.

"These primary sources—letters, diaries, documents that have never been analyzed—are especially valuable because they enhance the stories and history of the region in a way that official documents can't," said Grubbs.

He and Hernandez have already collected, researched and digitized 850 images that, by late spring 2009, will be part of ozarkscivilwar.org, a grant-funded web site under construction. "Our goal is to collect 2,500 to 3,000 images from institutions, archives, museums and individuals in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri," Grubbs said.

The web site, funded through a Library Services and Technology Act digital imaging grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and coordinated by the Missouri State Library, will contain collections such as the Mack Family Letters from 1850-1869.

"These letters," said Grubbs, "provide insights into the lives of Union sympathizers in the Ozarks. In many ways, their experiences are typical of southern Unionists, although their home in Missouri placed them squarely in a border region. The correspondence among the family members provides researchers with a unique perspective on the civilian experience in southwest Missouri."

Sometime in March 2009 at the Library Center, Grubbs and Hernandez plan to sponsor a Civil War antique show of sorts. "We want people to bring in their Civil War artifacts, pictures, documents, anything they have. We will have experts on hand who can tell them more about their historical significance; they won't appraise the materials, however."

If you have original artifacts from 1850-1875 to share, or if you would like more information on this project, contact Grubbs at 883-5310, extension 140, or e-mail briang@thelibrary.org or teresah@thelibrary.org.