Sand Springs Exhibit Paints Picture Of Indian Territory During The Civil War

Rick Wells, News On 6

SAND SPRINGS, Oklahoma -- This year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War.

You probably knew that already. Maybe you didn't know the first battle in Indian Territory might have happened near where Keystone Dam is located now.

That and lots of other fascinating facts are part of a new exhibit in Sand Springs.

Debbie Nobles of the Sand Springs Historical Museum Trust is showing News On 6 her favorites among the special exhibit on the American Civil War.

One item was a sabre from the battle of Harper's Ferry. She said you can still smell smoke and gunpowder.

Rodney Echohawk is responsible for putting the exhibit together.

"Why is the confederate wearing an upside down U.S. belt buckle?" he asked. "During the war especially during the later years the Confederates had very little equipment."

Images From The Exhibit

So when the Confederates killed a Union soldier they'd take the buckle turn it upside down and say the letters stood for Southern Nation.

There are dioramas of several battles, uniforms and equipment, and lots of pictures.

"Probably of all the thing here I'm most moved by one photograph," Echohawk said.

It's of a young girl in a mourning dress, holding a picture of her father.

"To me this encapsulates a great deal of what happened," he said.

Another photograph is from a 50 year Gettysburg reunion in 1913. Two old soldiers, one from each side, shaking hands.

There's General Ambrose Burnside, for whom sideburns were named. There are special sections on Grant and Lee and the war in the west with special emphasis on the war in Indian Territory.

"The south suffered, but no place suffered per capita as much as Indian Territory," Echohawk said.

The exhibit is an opportunity to learn about the events that reshaped our nation and our part in it.

The exhibit will run through the middle of October. The Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday.

Learn more about the exhibit