On February 12 Oesterle Library hosted a party celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. The turnout was amazing and it received great local media coverage. While the majority of the items on display in the Archives Reference Room were from the special collections collection that Emily, our technical services coordinator oversees, I did find a few cool items in the College's Archives to add to the display. This was one of the items I pulled out.

One of the sons of the first president enlisted in an Ohio regiment and fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. He died of fever following the siege at Vicksburg in 1863. We have his diaries as well as some letters. This is one of the letters sent back to his family. I liked it particularly because of the stationery which says "But one flag from Ocean to Ocean."

The letter and diaries are part of our Smith Family Papers collection.