Making history

How Princeton’s historical society is putting together an important exhibit on the Civil War

By: Christian Kirkpatrick
   Most Packet readers can probably imagine how a play is produced or an orchestra prepares for a concert. They generally understand how films arrive in theaters and fine art finds its way onto museum walls.
   But how is an historical exhibit created? Who chooses the topics to be covered and finds artifacts to do so? Who ensures that the exhibit is visually interesting as well as historically accurate? Who pays for it?
   Recently the Historical Society of Princeton offered The Packet a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how such exhibits are mounted and what to expect from its next one — Princeton and the Civil War.
   In early May the exhibition advisory board met at Bainbridge House, the historical society’s headquarters, to discuss the exhibit, which will open Oct. 15. According to curator Eileen Morales, who is directing the project, work on exhibits like this begins about 15 months before they are mounted. "This fairly long lead time allows us to apply for funding from such places as the New Jersey Historical Commission," she explained.
   The purpose of the meeting was to agree on a framework for the upcoming exhibit — the topics to be explored, the types of materials to be included. It was the second of three meetings that the board typically holds as an exhibit is planned.
   On hand were Howard Green and Julie Williams, the guest co-curators; James McPherson, author of "Battle Cry Freedom: The Civil War Era" and emeritus professor of American history at Princeton University; Steve Williams, a former student of Professor McPherson, a Civil War buff and historical society board member; Shirley Satterfield, a board member with a deep knowledge of Princeton’s African-American community, and Joseph Bilby, who has published on the war and guest-curated the New Jersey State Museum’s 2000 exhibit on the Civil War flags of New Jersey. Two other board members — Wanda Gunning and Elric Endersby — could not attend the meeting, but have helped in other ways throughout the planning process.
   Mr. Green and Ms. Williams, who are married, are known as the Public History Partners. Gail Stern, the late director of the historical society, found them when she advertised for a curator on the New Jersey History Listserve, an online clearinghouse for people interested in the state’s history. The Public History Partners have an extensive understanding of New Jersey, and Mr. Green, who is nationally known among oral historians, is particularly well versed in the state’s political, ethnic and labor history.
   The board sat around a large table on which were copies of a document describing the elements and organization proposed for the upcoming exhibit.
   To open the meeting, Mr. Green observed that the exhibit currently has some significant strengths and weaknesses. It reflects a surprising wealth of written materials in the hands of the historical society and other area institutions. However, as curators often say, exhibits are not books on the wall. Three-dimensional objects and color are necessary to make them lively and effective. Mr. Green and Ms. Williams are therefore still looking for local objects relating to the Civil War.
   They are also searching for materials that reflect the experiences of Irish and African-American residents during the conflict. The effects of the war on these two important Princeton communities almost never figures in the newspapers, letters or documents of the day.
   Then Mr. Green began to describe the exhibit as it was currently planned. He suggested that exhibit might start with a section on Princeton and the issue of slavery. The town was "a hotbed of moderation," Mr. Green joked, citing examples of how local people searched for a middle way between abolition and slavery.
   He asked whether others agree that the exhibit should start before the war. Professor McPherson and Mr. Williams assented. "It definitely ought to start there," said Mr. Williams. "This wasn’t a football game they decided to start in 1861."
   A section titled "Growing Tension" could follow. It might address the fact that Princeton University students are known to have burned abolitionists in effigy, although no photographs or drawings exist of the event.
   What does exist are the local results from the presidential election of 1860, which leaned Democratic, and a Lincoln campaign button.
   Portraits of important local leaders such as Governor Charles S. Olden and university president John Maclean Jr. could also be hung here. Can Lincoln’s inaugural train ride, which came through Princeton and stopped in Trenton, also be included? Probably not. "Photographs of the Lincoln train are easy to get," explained Mr. Green, "but it’s hard to prove they’re from New Jersey."
   The section of the exhibit on the war itself will draw heavily on the experiences of a Princeton man, Steve Margerum, who assembled a military company from Princeton and became a local hero. The curators found rosters of his men in a collection at Rutgers University, and the society has a scrapbook he made of newspaper articles mentioning the men in his company, but it is in very fragile condition. Mr. Bilby suggested that the pair look for additional information at the New Jersey State Archives.
   When talk turned to veterans of the war, Ms. Satterfield mentioned that she has the rifle and bayonet that her great-great-grandfather used at Gettysburg.
   Electricity! This was exactly the kind of item the curators have been looking for. Would she ask others whether they, too, have items related to the war?
   Ms. Williams then talked to Mr. Bilby about the military items that soldiers carried during the Civil War. What should she display?
   During the ensuing discussion, Mr. Williams mentioned that he has a topographical map of Civil War battles. Here was another potential addition to the exhibition.
   Next, Mr. Green asked about displaying gruesome war photographs. What does everyone think? What about children viewing the exhibit?
   Mr. Bilby declared that kids see similar things on TV. Others argued that children know that what they see on TV is not real, but the war was. Ms. Satterfield suggested a disclaimer at the door of the exhibit, warning that it contains disturbing material. Ms. Morales approved of the idea.
   Talk moved onto the next portion of the exhibit, which will describe life on the home front. There are many records of what Princetonians did to support the troops.
   The exhibit could also include a section called "Notables from Princeton." Mr. Green outlined the accomplishments of four candidates. Some are unknown figures — others are well known to Civil War experts. Mr. Green worried that none of them has a Southern connection. Professor McPherson suggested two officers who were educated at Princeton University, known then as the College of New Jersey.
   The discussion turned to the effects of the war on the college, which lost a third of its students when those from the South returned home. Ms. Williams mentioned that she is very impressed with Maclean, who kept the school afloat during these very difficult times.
   For the final section of the exhibit, "War in Memory," the guest curators have various ribbons, badges and other bits of memorabilia. Mr. Williams reminded everyone that university president-then-U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s earliest memory was of seeing Confederate President Jefferson Davis being led in chains through the streets of Staunton, Va. Could that be worked in?
   Mr. Green reiterated that he would like more material on the local black and Irish experience of the war. According to Ms. Satterfield, no information exists at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. Mr. Bilby suggested examining muster rolls for clues to soldiers’ backgrounds.
   After more than an hour’s discussion, Mr. Green asked, "Are we missing anything important?" Professor McPherson suggested the role that the local railroad played in moving men and supplies. Someone mentioned a member of the Stockton family who may have spied for the South.
   After nearly two hours, the meeting was over.
   The advisory board will meet once more in July to finalize the contents of the exhibit. Then Steve Tucker, the exhibition designer, will step in. He will decide how best to display the items that the co-curators have assembled. According to Museum Assistant Jeanette Cafaro, Mr. Tucker has designed many of the exhibits the society has mounted in the last decade.
   The Historical Society of Princeton’s exhibit on Princeton and the Civil War will open on Oct. 15 at Bainbridge House. Its costs, projected to be about $20,000, have been underwritten by the New Jersey Historical Commission, which is a division of the New Jersey Department of State, and by Princeton Financial Systems.
On the Web: www.princetonhistory.org. (609) 921-6748.