The only war fought on our soil, brother against brother, is one of most crucial events in America’s history, says Brian Grubbs.

Grubbs and fellow historian Teresa Hernandez are spearheading a grant-funded project to collect and digitize Ozarks-related Civil War photographs, journals, business and personal letters and other artifacts.

“The Civil War defined us as a country. It shaped our culture and is part of what we stand for today,” said Grubbs, who holds a master’s degree in museum studies from the University of Kansas.

“For instance, we had a sizable number of German immigrants who settled this part of the country. These new immigrants rose to the occasion, choosing to throw their weight behind this country and, in the process, helped to create its future.”

Historians Grubbs and Hernandez are encouraging area residents to share their historic items from between 1850 and 1875, covering the years before, during and after the war. The creation of an Internet-accessible database of original sources—entitled “Community and Conflict: The Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks”—will be an indispensable aid for researchers and history buffs.

“In exchange for allowing us to borrow the items to be scanned, we will provide free digitized copies of the materials as a thank-you for helping the Springfield-Greene County Library District in its efforts to preserve the Ozarks’ Civil War history,” said Hernandez, who is pursuing a master’s degree in history from Missouri State University.

“Although there are plenty of significant battles here and dipping into Arkansas, Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, Carthage, Newtonia and Prairie Grove, the items do not have to be directly linked to the military since the project’s goal is to give a general perspective of life in the Ozarks and include the social, economic and agricultural aspects of the Civil War.”

This is the collection and planning phase of the project which is funded by a federal Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the Missouri State Library. A second phase will begin this summer when the materials will be compiled and organized into a website. The entire project will be linked to the nationwide 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2011-2016.

For find out more, access thelibrary.org>Local History>Digitized Collections. If you have historical items, call Grubbs or Hernandez at 882-0714, or bring them to the local history department at the Library Center.

Jeanne C. Duffey, the community relations director for the Springfield-Greene County Library District, can be reached at jeanned@thelibrary.org.