A new exhibit exploring the impact of the Civil War on the University of Michigan opens on September 25, 2026, at the Judy and Stanley Frankel Detroit Observatory.
“Fill the Ranks”: The Civil War and the University of Michigan includes historic artifacts, digital animations, and interactive elements spanning two floors. It includes recruitment banners for local regiments, battlefield journals, and the leather-bound roster of all 1,804 U-M students who fought for the Union in the Civil War.
The exhibit is based on the collections of the Bentley Historical Library and features the work of the Observatory’s student docents.
“The exhibit captures the history of the Civil War on campus and in the wider community, and explores how the conflict affected nearly every aspect of life for students, faculty and townspeople” said Bentley Director Alexis Antracoli. “It also examines the similarities between the national debates over Reconstruction and local debates over the changing composition of the University’s student body in the war’s aftermath.”
Materials from the Bentley were carefully selected across many collections, including diaries, letters, newspapers, photos, and more. These items formed the basis of research for the exhibit, and some of the most interesting artifacts will be on display at the Observatory.
“The exhibit demonstrates the ways in which the Bentley and Observatory are able to combine their strengths to achieve campus-wide impact,” said Antracoli. “Not only does the collection draw on Bentley collections, but it has also been a true team effort. The Bentley’s archivists and conservator worked closely alongside Observatory staff and student docents to make this exhibit a reality.”
Interpretive panels tell the story of the University during this era, when students debated the issues that tore the country apart and sometimes found themselves on opposite sides at the front.
“These were not academic issues for the students, as the vast majority of them were eligible to fight,” said Observatory Director Gregory Parker. “They faced a fundamental question: Would they put their lives on the line for their beliefs?”
By the end of the war, the University was the largest institution of higher education in the country, though it was still restricted to white men. As women and African Americans fought for their place on campus, the University would reckon with the same questions of citizenship and equality confronting the nation during Reconstruction.
“Doing history involves facing difficult moments in our past, and this exhibit doesn’t shy away from doing that,” said Sophia Grant, a third-year Law Student and one of the Observatory’s docents who worked on the exhibit.
“Having a significant role in directing the focus and design of the exhibit, particularly with respect to Reconstruction in Michigan, allowed us to center in the exhibit the important and sometimes challenging stories that usually go untold in narratives of the Civil War.”
Supporting programs, including exhibit tours and guest speakers, will expand upon the exhibit’s themes.
Visitors can view “Fill the Ranks” during the Observatory’s public hours, 12-5 pm on Thursdays, 12-11 pm on Fridays, and 12-5 pm on Saturdays through July 2, 2027.
The Observatory is located at 1398 Ann Street, Ann Arbor, 48109.
Admission is free.
The exhibit is presented with support from the Inclusive History Project and the U.S. at 250 program.