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 The
“Best of Illinois History” award recognizes significant and
outstanding contributions to the field of history in the last year.
The video documentary is a production of students in the Lincoln
College Radio, Television, and New Media Department, in cooperation
with staff at the Lincoln Heritage Museum. Students Zaknafien Luken
and Adam Hoffman produced and directed the original production,
while Spencer David and Noah Henry served as production assistants.
Lincoln College staff also assisted in the documentary.
“Our Cause Is Just” is the Civil War story of the John and Esther
Hawes family from Eminence Township in Logan County near Atlanta,
Illinois. The documentary is based upon letters written by brothers
Henry and George Hawes and half-brother James Ewing—all three
soldiers in battle—to parents John and Esther and family back home.
The family in turn also wrote many letters to their sons, whose
units were fighting primarily in Tennessee and Mississippi. The
letters date from 1861 until after the war was completed in 1865.
Eventually, the letters were handed down to a Hawes family
descendant, James Hawes. Several years ago, James and Joanne Hawes
donated the collection of letters to the Lincoln Heritage Museum.
There are 112 letters in the Hawes collection. Photographs of the
family are also part of the collection.
“What makes these letters so fascinating is that they write candidly
and vividly about the political issues of the day: Union war policy,
southern secessionists, Abraham Lincoln and emancipation, as well as
Lincoln’s re-election and assassination,” said Lincoln College
Associate Professor Ron Keller,
screenwriter for the documentary. “Added to the letters themselves
is the fact that there are Civil War photographs of both Henry and
George and their parents, and an incredible amount of family
history,” added Keller.
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Lincoln Heritage Museum Director, Olivia Partlow, was the
production supervisor for the documentary, Partlow remarked, "Our Cause is Just”
tells the Hawes family’s story in a very relatable way. It makes history feel
more local and reminds viewers of our rich Logan County history."
Museum staff, with the help of volunteers, chiefly Lynn Spellman and Steve
Sauer, transcribed the letters over the past several years. Then, in the fall of
2020 work began towards the creation of a video to detail the story.
The documentary draws upon many of the letters, available photographic images,
and a few recreations to tell the personal story, and how a local family
persevered through the trials and struggles of the Civil War.
“Having the opportunity to direct and edit this documentary was a true honor,”
said Zaknafein Luken, senior Radio, TV, and New Media student. “There aren’t a
lot of people that would trust a young college student to take on a project like
this but Ron and Olivia were nothing but supportive of me and my fellow students
throughout this project. When making this documentary, I didn’t see this as
another Civil War story, this was about family and what an individual would do
to get back home. Between the story and the crew, “Our Cause is Just” is
different from anything else,” added Luken.
The ISHS Annual "Best of Illinois History" Awards and Meeting will take place in
Springfield, on April 9, 2022 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.
The documentary can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/pNQro4UZKxA
[Lauren Grenlund]
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