Mercer in the Civil War, Arlette Copeland

"Boys, you may get your shotguns now!" – Charley Hawkins, senior, Mercer University, Penfield, Georgia, 1861. Through historical documents and images found in Mercer University's Special Collections/Archives, Copeland sets the stage for the atmosphere surrounding Mercer University at the beginning of and during the Civil War. She reveals the mindsets, reactions, and contributions made by the University and the young men who left college to participate in the conflict. These students represented many young men of the time who had gone off to college with hopes and dreams for a promising future, much like the college-aged men and women of today. Learn about the students and their fates as they were engulfed by this tumultuous time in America's history. Arlette Copeland is a part-time Special Collections assistant for Mercer University's Special Collections/Archives. She was a full-time Special Collections assistant from 1999-2012 and newspaper writer and food columnist for The Telegraph prior to coming to Mercer. She is a Civil War enthusiast and a voracious reader and researcher of this time period. This event is in conjunction with the Civil War 150 traveling exhibition hosted by Mercer University's Jack Tarver Library from October 13-November 3. Image credit: "Bombardment of Fort Sumter," print by Currier & Ives, ca. 1861. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC02881.15)