Databases - some with Primary Sources
The library's databases give you access to magazines, journals, newspapers, reference books, video files, audio files, and podcasts. Some contain archival documents such as photos, songs, diaries and pamphlets. The Databases: How to Search Them guide (see link below) and the search help provided within each database will assist you with your search.
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Civil War: Sources in U.S. History Online (Gale)Primary source information on the United States Civil War - Unlimited users
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Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers (Gale Primary Sources)Digitized facsimile images of hundreds of 19th century U.S. newspapers. Includes coverage of the American Civil War, Antebellum-era life, and other major topics.
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Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (Gale Primary Sources)Primary source information about the Americas from 1500 to the early 1900's.
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Gale Databases (Gale)
Find articles from academic journals such as Civil War Times, American History, and The Mississippi Quarterly as well as background information in books such as The Civil War Battlefield Guide and The Reader's Companion to Military History.
Websites
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Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries : African Americans in Civil WarAn exhibition from National Library of Medicine's History of Medicine Division
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Black Abolitionist ArchiveThis digital collection of the University of Detroit Mercy, "...is a collection of over 800 speeches by antebellum blacks and approximately 1,000 editorials from the period." Has browse and search features.
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Civil War: Medical Care, Hospitals, NursesLibguide of medical care during the America Civil War
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The Civil War Collection at Michigan State UniversityOne of MSU's University Archives & Historical Collections it has"hundreds of pages of correspondence, diaries, musters, reminiscences, and photographs". Choose "collections" at the top of the page.
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Civil War MedicineCivil War - doctors, nurses, hospitals
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Civil War Men & WomenMary Ann E. Keen: Civil War Nurse
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Detroit Public Library Digital CollectionsSearch or browse photos from the Civil War era and read the letters of Benjamin Fish.
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Documenting the American SouthFrom the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
"Documenting the American South (DocSouth) is a digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. -
Ford's TheatreTake a virtual tour of the theater, view artifacts from the museum, and explore the Remembering Lincoln digital collection which includes national and international reactions to the assassination.
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Joint Archives of HollandA department of Hope College, the Joint Archives provides access to the Civil War letters of Willem Roon, a Michigan soldier.
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Lincoln/Net"This World Wide Web site presents materials from Lincoln's Illinois years (1830-1861), supplemented by resources from Illinois' early years of statehood (1818-1829)."
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The Lincoln Financial Foundation CollectionBooks, photos, articles, cartoons, manuscripts, objects, and fine art
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Making of America - Cornell UniversityA collaboration between the University of Michigan and Cornell University, "Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction."
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Making of America - University of MichiganA collaboration between the University of Michigan and Cornell University, "Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction."
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Milestones: 1861-1865This section of the Office of the Historian site provides an overview of key incidents involving foreign relations during the Civil War.
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National Park Service : The Civil WarInformation about the historical parks, but also Soldiers and Sailors Database (under People) lets you search by name to connect soldiers to their units and their units to their battles. The sailors portion has records of African American sailors.
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Seeking MichiganDigital Collections of primary sources include oral histories, Civil War manuscripts, death records and early documents.
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Smithsonian Online Digital Archives - 1861-1865Digitized primary sources. Choose a collection, read the overview, and then continue to the contents . Includes letters from a Civil War surgeon, Samuel Adams, and Confederate sheet music.
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Soldiers, Spies and Nurses--Women's roles during the Civil WarWomen's roles during the Civil War
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The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the Civil War"The Valley Project details life in two American communities, one Northern and one Southern, from the time of John Brown's Raid through the era of reconstruction."
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Women and the American Civil War (December 2015): Works CitedWomen of the American Civil War
The Library of Congress Web Site
The Library of Congress has a large collection of primary sources including many relevant to Civil War research. See the "Exploring the Library of Congress Website" video on this page to better understand this website.
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American Memory from the Library of CongressThis site from the Library of Congress provides access to historical texts, photos, oral histories, maps, sheet music and recordings. The site can be searched and browsed. Choosing “list all collections” brings up an A-Z list with the option to show descriptions. The “more browse options” offers the choice of browsing by topic, time period, or region.
The following links are to particular collections and exhibits from the Library of Congress.
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Chronicling America"Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages,
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The Civil War in AmericaAn exhibition of the Library of Congress
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Jedediah Hotchkiss PapersDiaries and letters of a Confederate map maker.
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Mr. Lincoln's Virtual LibraryIncludes the Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress collection.
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Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910Browse index of subjects to find content related to Freedmen, Underground railroad, Sojourner Truth, Slavery in the United States, and other topics.
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Charles Wellington Reed Papers, 1776-1926Includes letters and sketches by a Union bugler
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Civil War Soldier in the Wild Cat Regiment : Selections from the Tilton C. Reynolds PapersLetters from a Union soldier who became a prisoner of war
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Philip Henry Sheridan PapersLetters, memoirs, and newspaper clippings of Union army officer
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William T. Sherman PapersUnion general
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Washington During the Civil War: the Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861 to 1865Three transcribed diaries of a patent office employee with connections to Lincoln.
Exploring the Library of Congress Website (3:35)
Hathi Trust Digital Library
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Hathi Trust Digital Library"a partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and accessible long into the future. "
Examples of some of the Civil War books available online through Hathi Trust:
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Annual report of the Adjutant General of the State of Michigan for the year ...1860/61 through 1865/66 available. Click on Full view under Viewability.
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A manual of military surgery; or, Hints on the emergencies of field, camp and hospital practice, by S.D. Gross.Published in 1862. Click on Full view under Viewability.
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A private chapter of the war. (1861-5) By Geo. W. Bailey"...a limited inside view of a portion of the Confederacy..." "...experiences, not of a spy, not of a scout, but of a harmless escaped prisoner of war..."
Click on Full view under Viewability.