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How to use this guide
Nurses during the American Civil War, 1862 (Wikimedia Commons); "Make Way for Liberty" (Library of Congress); Civil War Envelope (Library of Congress).
This guide is designed to help you research sources for this specific class
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Encyclopedias for Background Information
Browse any of the following encyclopedias to further explore topics, milestone events, and notable people.
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Ebook: The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Civil War
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ISBN: 9780199782017Publication Date: 2011A gold mine for the historian as well as the Civil War buff, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Civil War offers a concise, comprehensive overview of the major personalities and pivotal events of the war that redefined the American nation.
Drawing upon recent research that has moved beyond battles and military campaigns to address the significant roles played by civilians, women, and African Americans, the 250 entries explore the era in all its complexity and unmistakable human drama. Here of course are the major battles and campaigns, ranging from Gettysburg and Shiloh to Sherman's March to the Sea, as well as biographical entries on everyone from Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee to Frederick Douglass, Clara Barton, and Walt Whitman. But the book also features entries on a wealth of other matters--music, photography, religion, economics, foreign affairs, medicine, prisons, legislative landmarks, military terms and weaponry, political events, social reform, women in the war, and much more. In addition, charts, newly commissioned maps, chronologies, and period photographs provide an appealing visual context. Suggestions for further reading at the end of most entries and a guide to more general sources in an appendix introduce the reader to the literature on a specific topic. A list of Civil War museums and historic sites and a representative sampling of Civil War websites also point to resources that can be tailored to individual interests. (Publisher) -
Ebook: Women During the Civil War
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ISBN: 041593723XPublication Date: 2003-10-31Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia is the first A-Z reference work to offer a panoramic presentation of the contributions, achievements, and personal stories of American women during one of the most turbulent eras of the nation's history. Incorporating the most recent scholarship as well as excerpts from diaries, letters, newspapers, and other primary source documents, this Encyclopedia encompasses the wartime experiences of famous and lesser-known women of all ethnic groups and social backgrounds throughout the United States during the Civil War era. -
Ebook: The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine
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ISBN: 9780765611710Publication Date: 2008-07-15The American Civil War is the most read about era in our history, and among its most compelling aspects is the story of Civil War medicine - the staggering challenge of treating wounds and disease on both sides of the conflict. Written for general readers and scholars alike, this first-of-its kind encyclopedia will help all Civil War enthusiasts to better understand this amazing medical saga. Clearly organized, authoritative, and readable, "The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine" covers both traditional historical subjects and medical details. It offers clear explanations of unfamiliar medical terms, diseases, wounds, and treatments. The encyclopedia depicts notable medical personalities, generals with notorious wounds, soldiers' aid societies, medical department structure, and hospital design and function. It highlights the battles with the greatest medical significance, women's medical roles, period sanitation issues, and much more. Presented in A-Z format with more than 200 entries, the encyclopedia treats both Union and Confederate material in a balanced way. Its many user-friendly features include a chronology, a glossary, cross-references, and a bibliography for further study. -
Ebook: The Routledge Encyclopedia of Civil War Era Biographies
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ISBN: 9780415878036Publication Date: 2012-11-07Behind the familiar names of the military and political leaders whose names we all know--Lincoln, Davis, Lee, Grant, Sherman, and Jackson, are the people whose lives and hard work defined the Civil War era: abolitionists, slaves, inventors, manufacturers, painters, lawyers, writers, spies, nurses, and preachers. These are the people who helped shape both the war and our ideas about it.
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Civil War Era Biographies is a comprehensive collection of articles on roughly 900 individuals from the Civil War era, including people from both the years leading up to the war and the period of Reconstruction that came after. Also included are maps of key battles, a timeline that progresses from President Lincoln's election to the end of the war, and a list of innovations used or developed during the war. -
The Civil War Era and Reconstruction
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ISBN: 9780765682574The encyclopedia takes a broad, multidisciplinary approach to the history of the period. It includes general and specific entries on politics and business, labor, industry, agriculture, education and youth, law and legislative affairs, literature, music, the performing and visual arts, health and medicine, science and technology, exploration, life on the Western frontier, family life, slave life, Native American life, women, and more than a hundred influential individuals. -
Every Day of the Civil War
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ISBN: 9780786444649From the early seizure of government property during the latter part of 1860 to the final Confederate surrender in 1865, this book provides a day-to-day account of the U.S. Civil War. Although the book provides a daily chronicle of the combat, it is written in narrative form to give readers some continuity as they move from skirmish to skirmish. During the course of the saga, the book also chronicles the life spans of more than 600 Union and Confederate vessels, documenting when possible the time of each vessel's acquisition, commissioning, major engagements, and decommissioning. Seven appendices provide lists of prominent Union and Confederate officers, primary naval actions, and Medal of Honor recipients from 1863 to 1865.
Browse Online Exhibits and Digital Collections
You can find many collections of primary sources on the web (as well as interpretations and essays). Below are just a few examples of what's available. You need to be very careful when you use primary sources you found on the web. Be sure to evaluate the site to see if it's reliable.
Library of Congress Civil War Collection
"Explore the faces, places and events of the U.S. Civl War through photographs, prints and drawings. The Prints & Photographs Division nolds thousands of images relating to the Civil War, found in many different collections".
The Making of America
The "Making of America" is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. It includes approximately 16,000 books and 50,000 journal articles published in the 19th century, searchable by subject. Also includes the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.
LINCOLN Net (Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project)
Hosted at Northern Illinois University, this project presents historical materials from Abraham Lincoln's Illinois years (1830-1861), including Lincoln's writings and speeches.
Civil War at National Archives
Here is your ultimate source to military records from the Civil War.
The Civil War: Women and the Home Front
This libguide is from Duke University. Some of the material is linked to books and other material that can only be used by Duke faculty and students. However, if you click on the tabs labeled "Primary Sources Online" and "Manuscript Collections" you will find a treasure trove of digitized material related to the topic of the libguide.
The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War
A collaboration between the Virginia Center for Digital History and the University of Virginia Library, this site explores in details the life during the American Civil War in two towns, one southern and one northern. Includes diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and maps.
Documenting the American South
This site from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill covers Southern history, literature and culture from the colonial period through the first decades of the twentieth century. It provides access to an outstanding collection of materials including first person and slave narratives. It also includes a great collection on the southern homefront during the Civil War.
The Crisis of the Union: An Electronic Archive of Documents about the Causes, Conduct, and Consequences of the US Civil War.
"Hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and created with the support of the Library Company of Philadelphia, this collection of primary materials is useful in the study of the political, economic, social, religious, racial and gender issues from the Civil War era. the collection is comprised of pamphlets, books, broadsides, cartoons, clippings, paintings, maps, and other print memorabilia."