LibGuides: MC 202: The American Civil War: Primary Sources

Primary sources are materials which provide first-hand evidence of an event, a social movement, or daily life in a particular time and place. Common examples of primary sources are letters, diaries, photographs, and oral history interviews. Depending on your research context, primary sources might also include newspaper articles, data, laws, treaties, or other legal documents.

Online Primary Sources: The American Civil War

Newspapers, Pamphlets, Magazines

ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
African American Newspapers 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
Newly digitized, these newspapers published by African Americans can now be browsed and searched as never before. Part of the Readex America's Historical Newspapers collection, African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 was created from the most extensive African American newspaper archives in the United States—those of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress. Selections were guided by James Danky, editor of "African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: A National Bibliography." Beginning with Freedom's Journal (NY)—the first African American newspaper published in the United States—the titles in this resource include The Colored Citizen (KS), Arkansas State Press, Rights of All (NY), Wisconsin Afro-American, New York Age, L'Union (LA), Northern Star and Freeman's Advocate (NY), Richmond Planet, Cleveland Gazette, The Appeal (MN) and hundreds of others from every region of the U.S. A richly detailed record of the African American past African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 offers researchers valuable primary sources for such diverse disciplines as cultural, literary and social history; ethnic studies and more. Users can compare and contrast African American views on practically every major theme of the American past. Coverage spans life in the Antebellum South; the spread of abolitionism; growth of the Black church; the Emancipation Proclamation; the Jim Crow Era; the Great Migration to northern cities, the West and Midwest in search of greater opportunity; rise of the N.A.A.C.P.; the Harlem Renaissance; the Civil Rights movement; political and economic empowerment and more. Teachers and students will find firsthand perspectives on notable Americans from Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington to W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as obituaries, advertisements, editorials and illustrations.
Archives Unbound Collections This link opens in a new window
-Confederate Newspapers: A Collection from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama
ProQuest Civil War Era This link opens in a new window
--Southern Titles: Richmond Dispatch (Virginia), Charleston Mercury (South Carolina), New Orleans Times Picayune (Louisiana)
--Northern Titles: Boston Herald, New York Herald, Columbus State Journal(Ohio)
--Border State/Mississippi Valley Titles: The Kentucky Daily Journal, Memphis Daily Appeal
--Southern Titles: Richmond Dispatch (Virginia), Charleston Mercury (South Carolina), New Orleans Times Picayune (Louisiana)
--Northern Titles: Boston Herald, New York Herald, Columbus State Journal(Ohio)
--Border State/Mississippi Valley Titles: The Kentucky Daily Journal, Memphis Daily Appeal
American Periodicals Series This link opens in a new window
"This database contains periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines and many other historically-significant periodicals."
American Pamphlets, Series 1, 1820-1922: From the New York Historical Society This link opens in a new window

Collections

Secession Era Editorials Project
Includes accurate transcriptions of primary texts from 19th century American history, with emphasis on sources that shed light on sectional conflict and transformations in regional identity.

American Slavery Collection 1820-1922 This link opens in a new window
This collection addresses every facet of American slavery—one of the most important and controversial topics in U.S. history. These diverse materials, all filmed in full-resolution color, include books, pamphlets, graphic materials, and ephemera; among them are a large number of invaluable Southern imprints.
Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
Includes monographs, essays, articles, speeches, and interviews written by leaders within the black community from the earliest times to 1975. The collection is intended for research in black studies, political science, American history, music, literature, and art. The collection begins with the works of Frederick Douglass.

Civil War Women
Online archival collections from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University. featuring scanned pages and texts of the writings of women during the American Civil War. Includes the 1864 diary of Alice Williamson, a 16 year old girl from Gallatin, Tennessee, the papers of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, a renowned Confederate spy, and the papers of Sarah E. Thompson, a spy for the Union.
Civil War Collections at Michigan State University
Located in 101 Conrad Hall, MSU Archives have more than 120 collections containing Civil War papers and records, including correspondence, diaries, and other documentation of Civil War experiences. The majority of the collections relate to soldiers from Michigan. The resource guide for the Civil War collections is available at http://archives.msu.edu/documents/civilwar.pdf.
The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War
Takes two communities, one Northern and one Southern, through the experience of the American Civil War.

Prints, Songs, Letters & Diaries

American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window

Civil War Prints and Photographs
Explore the faces, places and events of the U.S. Civil War through photographs, prints and drawings. This digitized collection includes thousands of prints and photographs from the Library of Congress.

American Song (streaming music) This link opens in a new window

American Memory Project Collections

American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning. Below are collections that deal with Civil War era topics.

Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana
The collection contains more than 11,100 items. This online release presents more than 1,300 items with more than 4,000 images and a date range of 1824-1931. It includes the complete collection of Stern’s contemporary newspapers, Lincoln’s law papers, sheet music, broadsides, prints, cartoons, maps, drawings, letters, campaign tickets, and other ephemeral items.
Band Music from the Civil War Era
"...makes available examples of a brilliant style of brass band music that flourished in the 1850s in the United States and remained popular through the nineteenth century. Bands of this kind served in the armies of both the North and the South during the Civil War. This online collection includes both printed and manuscript music."
Civil War Maps, 1861 -1865
"approximately 2,240 Civil War maps and charts and 76 atlases and sketchbooks that are held within the Libraryof Congress' Geography and Maps Division."
Civil War photograph album, ca. 1861-65. (James Wadsworth Family Papers)
Album of cartes de visite, miniature portraits used as calling cards, were extremely popular during the American Civil War.
Civil War Soldier in the Wild Cat Regiment: Selections from the Tilton C. Reynolds Papers
"...documents the Civil War experience of Captain Tilton C. Reynolds, a member of the 105th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers."
Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society
"drawn from twelve archival collections housed at the New-York Historical Society. Pictorial items include 731 stereographs, and over 70 photographs from an album, 178 sketches from 3 different collections, 304 posters, 29 etchings of caricatures, and almost 500 envelopes with printed or embossed decoration related to Civil War events and personalities."
Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress
Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library
Contains the Abraham Lincoln Papers and the "We'll Sing to Abe Our Song!" online collection, which includes more than two hundred sheet-music compositions that represent Lincoln and the war as reflected in popular music.
Selected Civil War Photographs Collection
"...contains 1,118 photographs. Most of the images were made under the supervision of Mathew B. Brady...An additional two hundred autographed portraits of army and navy officers, politicians, and cultural figures can be seen in the Civil War photograph album, ca. 1861-65."
Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865
"The diary documents Taft's life in Washington, D. C., where he worked as an examiner in the U.S. Patent Office. It is especially significant because of his connection to the Abraham Lincoln family and because of his descriptions of daily life in Washington during the Civil War."

Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories This link opens in a new window
This engaging website offers first-hand audio recollections of the experience of slavery in the American South from 23 African-Americans.

Primary Sources on the Internet

Quality primary sources exist on the internet. Look for materials and collections digitized and shared by:

museums (ex: A merican Civil War Museum)
archives (ex: N ational Archives - Civil War Collections)
libraries (ex: Lincoln's papers at the Library of Congress)
universities
non-profit organizations, like centers and institutes
government sources

Primary Sources in the Library: Civil War

The Library has primary sources in the collection located both in the regular shelves (which you have access to) and in Special Collections (which a librarian will get for you and which you'll use in the Special Collections Reading Room).

To access primary sources (and other items within our collection), you will click on the Books & Media link on the homepage (lib.msu.edu). From there, you can do a keyword search, an advanced search (my default choice), a title search, or an author search.

Finding Primary Sources in the Library

1. Works BY Important People in the Field

Use the author tab to narrow your search to things BY the person (not just about the person). You can also use the author tab for organizations.

2. Use Special Keywords

Item Type:

For letters, use "letters" or "correspondence"
For interviews, use "interview" or "personal narrative"
For diaries, use "diaries" or "journals"
For pictures, use "photographs", "posters" or "pictorial works"
For cartoons, use "editorial cartoon" or "political cartoon" or "caricature"

Subject Terms:

When you find a useful item, you'll see "subject headings" linked at the bottom of the item's record. Those are good ways to browse and see what else the library has.
For example:

Confederate States of American -- History
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Soldiers -- United States -- Social conditions -- 19th century
Slavery -- United States -- History -- 19th century
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, Female

3. Limit the Time Period

Use the "within" field to limit the time period of your search.

MSU Libraries

Course Guides

MC 202: The American Civil War

Online Primary Sources: The American Civil War

American Memory Project Collections

Primary Sources on the Internet

Primary Sources in the Library: Civil War

Finding Primary Sources in the Library

Special Collections Library Guide