Time Period: 1860-1900 (a few collections after 1900)
Location: North America
Civil War Primary Source Documents from The New-York Historical Society presents unique manuscript material chronicling all aspects of the American Civil War from warfare on land, at sea, in hospitals and prison camps, and reactions and impressions of the War from the home front. The collection, comprised of over 110,000 pages, focuses on the War as it was fought from 1861 to 1865 and represents both Northern and Southern perspectives. It also contains important contextual documents leading up to War and after its conclusion.
The collection provides researchers with access to letters; diaries; administrative records; photographs; illustrations; artifacts such as reading glasses, wooden boxes, and pocketbooks; various scrapbook journals; family portraits; and maps featuring hand-colored details of troop movements and local landmarks. Highlights from the collection include the papers of David Cronin, a famous soldier and artist; the letters of three soldier-brothers to their family back home in the Lyon family papers, soldiers' diaries chronicling daily life and experiences as prisoners of war; women's diaries discussing life on the home front; accounts from famous people, such as Ulysses S. Grant’s letters regarding the fall of Richmond; collections of records from Confederate and Union regiments; Union Defense Committee records; Confederate Army records; and records of the Provost Marshal of the 7th congressional district.
This is a list of the most common types of primary resources in history. When searching for sources, you might watch for these terms to help you figures out if you have found a primary resource. You might also use these terms in your searches to help focus on a particular type of source or narrow down a large list of results.
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Jessie Ball duPont Library, University of the South
178 Georgia Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383
931.598.1664
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