Primary sources online and in databases
- American Civil War: A Collection of Free Online Primary SourcesAssembled by librarian Susan Birkenseer, this guide "highlights a diverse collection of free websites of primary sources for the study of the war. These websites include digitized newspaper archives for both the Union and Confederate sides of the struggle, collections of letters and diaries, digitized photographs, maps, and official records and dispatches from the battlefields."
- African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries. Created in partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
- American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Includes diaries, letters, and memoirs that provide detailed firsthand descriptions of and anecdotes about historical characters and events as well as daily life during the American Civil War.
- Civil War Horse Soldier Artifacts CollectionThis collection contains photographs of Civil War artifacts from the Horse Soldier antique store in Gettysburg, PA. The photographed artifacts are organized by the name of the soldier connected with the item, when available. The photographs are often accompanied by a separate document with a thorough description of the artifact, and some have a brief biography of the soldier as well.
- Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)DPLA brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. Includes many primary sources and other public domain materials.
- Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines This link opens in a new window
Access to full text and scanned images of Civil War-era periodicals.
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new windowLooking for government documents? Committee reports? Legislative histories? Check here!
- Slavery & Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive This link opens in a new window
Devoted to the study and understanding of the history of slavery in America and the rest of the world from the 17th century to the late 19th century.
Primary sources in the library catalog
Find primary sources in the library catalog or WorldCat.
- Using an advanced search, change the field to subject and enter "sources" as pictured below.
- You can also search for particular kinds of sources, including: correspondence, diaries, early works to 1800, interviews, pamphlets, periodicals, personal narratives, and speeches.
- Read the bibliographies of secondary sources! Follow the road of references laid down by other historians.
