The summer of 2024 marked the return of LSU Libraries' Special Collections Summer Research Project Program, an initiative that offers LSU students an opportunity to engage in original research using the rich resources housed in Hill Memorial Library. Now in its second year, the program continues to provide grants supporting student-led projects, developed in collaboration with LSU’s Office of Undergraduate Research, formerly known as the LSU Discover Undergraduate Research Program. This summer, Charlotte Balart and Bryce Edwards explored distinct aspects of history, contributing valuable insights to the study of archival materials and oral histories. 

Balart is an undergraduate English major, minoring in Spanish, and is slated to graduate in Spring 2025. Edwards is an undergraduate history major slated to graduate in May 2026. 

Charlotte Balart, LSU Ogden Honors College 

When Charlotte Balart first opened the Nancy Pinson Papers, she wasn’t just reading old documents—she was piecing together a complex chapter of Southern history. Over several weeks in Hill Memorial Library’s Reading Room, Balart carefully examined this collection, which details the business affairs of Nancy Pinson, a woman planter in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, during the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras.

Working under the guidance of John Miles, Curator of Books and Head of Instruction, and Kelly Larson, Special Collections Head of Research and Public Services, Balart navigated the intricacies of archival research with patience and precision. Her deep dive into the collection uncovered key details about the Pinson plantation’s location and expanded the known genealogy of the Pinson family.

Balart shared her findings last August at the LSU Summer Research Forum (SURF), where she discussed the challenges of archival research and highlighted major themes in the collection with instructional value. These include:

• Inheritance rights for women in the 19th century
• The impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the cotton trade
• The shift from slavery to sharecropping
• The Mississippi River’s role in the plantation economy

Through her work, Balart enhanced the educational potential of the Pinson Papers, making them more accessible for classroom discussions and historical analysis—one document at a time.

Bryce Edwards, LSU Ogden Honors College 

What compels someone to serve in the military? How do deployments shape their lives? And, what challenges do they face when returning home? Working alongside Jen Cramer, director of the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History, Bryce Edwards spent his summer seeking answers to these questions and ensuring that the voices of U.S. military veterans are preserved for future generations.

Through a collaborative effort between LSU Libraries’ T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History and the Library of Congress Veteran History Project (LOC VHP), Edwards conducted in-depth research, interviews, and transcriptions to document the firsthand experiences of veterans who served in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq. His work culminated in the production of a short podcast for the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History.

At the LSU Summer Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) in August 2024, Edwards shared insights from his research, emphasizing the importance of preserving these stories—particularly in the wake of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. His project explored fundamental topics, including:

• Why individuals chose to enlist
• The realities of deployment in conflict zones
• The soldiers’ reactions to the withdrawal
• The challenges of reintegrating into civilian life

Through interviews with veterans like Scott Edwards and Jose Corsino, Edwards provided a nuanced look at military service, ensuring that these personal narratives are not lost to history. His work, housed in both LSU and LOC archives, serves as a lasting resource for researchers, historians, and the public—shedding light on the personal and societal impacts of war.

By carefully transcribing, auditing, and curating these powerful testimonies, Edwards isn’t just documenting history, he’s helping to shape our collective understanding of it.