Historians make camp in Crawfordsville

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - The grounds of the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum in Crawfordsville played host to Civil War historians from all over the midwest.

"This is what we enjoy doing. We spend a lot of time and a lot of effort researching this stuff. And we spend a lot of time getting the collections together," said Civil War historian Willard Motsinger.

On display were guns, artillery, and communication devices including a reproduction of a Beardslee Magneto Electric Telegraph.

"I really enjoyed looking at the signaling and seeing some of the devices there and how they were used. It was fascinating to talk to the guys dealing with the artillery," said visitor Brian Straight.

For Straight of West Lafayette the artillery display served as a reminder of how horrific the Civil War was.

"When people went into battle and you see some of the artillery pieces that were pointed at them. You get a real sense of what the war really meant to the soldier in the line," said Straight.

Members of the Ohio Valley Civil War Association helped to explain items to children. They say a lot what they teach can't be found in history books.

"It's really neat to put things on the ground for these kids to see that in a lot of cases they'll never read about. They'll pick up something that's an original not a reproduction and you look at them and say you have something there that was actually at the battle of Gettysburg and these kids eyes just get as big as bubbles. That's what makes the hobby worthwhile," said Civil War historian Jim Lady.

For more information about the Ohio Valley Civil War Association visit their website.