As part of Tennessee’s commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War, the Tennessee State Library and Archives, in cooperation with the Tennessee State Museum, is sending teams of archivists and conservators to communities across the state to record and digitize Civil War memorabilia owned by local residents for a new exhibit. These teams will scan or take digital photographs of the materials, some of which will be featured in an upcoming exhibit, “Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee.”

Lindsey Wesson created a terrific 3-minute video, available here - http://tn.gov/tsla/cwtn/index.htm - that provides a behind the scenes look at what happens at these events. Please watch the video and share it with people in your community who might have photographs, documents or other artifacts to bring in when the Looking Back team visits your county.

That website also has links to more information about the Looking Back project, including eligibility guidelines, event photos, a press release and publicity flyers. Some items from the first five visits have already been posted online! Just click the ‘Documents, Photographs and Artifacts’ link to explore.

Thus far, teams have visited Maury, Blount, Benton, Montgomery, Davidson and Rutherford Counties and will be in Henderson County on August 27^th. TSLA plans to send teams to all 95 counties.

Please help us find people with fascinating Civil War memorabilia to share and invite them to participate.  People from every county are contributing to a fascinating online exhibit commemorating the Civil War in Tennessee – and we want everyone to know about it!