Civil War Primary Sources
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From the History Center
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Contact Us: education@civilwar.org
Primary Documents by Topic:
Most Popular
Official Records
Addresses & Speeches
Acts, Bills, & Orders
Military Correspondence & Documents
Personal Correspondence & Narratives
Prints & Photos
Maps
Document Collections
Getting Started
Most Popular Primary Documents
of the Civil War
Constitution of the United States of America ca. 1860 »
The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States »
Secession Acts of the Thirteen Confederate States »
Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address »
Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address »
The Constitution of the Confederate States of America »
Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation »
Robert E Lee’s “Lost Order” No. 191 »
Primary Documents
Official Records
The Official Records of the Civil War (Union and Confederate) »
Inaugural Addresses
Davis’ First Inaugural Address (1861) »
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address (1861) »
President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865) »
Congressional Speeches
Presidential Campaigns
Republican Party Platform of 1856 »
Northern Democratic Party Platform of 1860 »
Lincoln - Hamlin 1860 Election Broadside »
McClellan Accepts the Democratic Nomination (1864) »
George B. McClellan- 1864 Election Broadside »
Lincoln - Johnson 1864 Election Broadside »
Speeches
Frederick Douglass, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" (1841) »
Presidential and Federal Orders
War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863) »
Constitutional Amendments
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865) »
Court Cases
Official Union Correspondence
Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861) »
George B. McClellan to Abraham Lincoln, 7 July 1862 »
William T. Sherman to Abraham Lincoln, 22 December 1864 »
William T. Sherman to Henry W. Halleck, 24 December 1864 »
William T. Sherman to U.S. Grant or H.W. Halleck, 18 April 1865 »
Official Confederate Correspondence
Robert E. Lee, Resignation from the United States Army »
Robert E. Lee to Winfield Scott, 20 April 1861 »
Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, 3 September 1862 »
Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, 5 July 1863 »
Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, 31 July 1863 »
Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, 25 March 1864 »
Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, 30 March 1864 »
Robert E. Lee to Andrew Hunter, 11 January 1865 »
56th Virginia Regiment to Richmond (Va.) Whig, 14 February 1865 »
Patrick R. Cleburne, et al., to Joseph E. Johnston, et al., 2 Jan. 1864 »
Joseph E. Johnston to William Hardee, et al., 31 January 1864 »
Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, 20 April 1865 »
Union Army Documents
U.S. Grant to Gen. Buckner, Feb. 16, 1862
General Order, No. 66, June 28, 1863 »
U.S. Grant Discusses Meeting President Lincoln (1885) »
U.S. Grant Discusses Taking Command of the Army of the Potomac (1885) »
Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, April 10, 1865 »
Agreement Between General Sherman and General Johnston, April 18th, 1865 »
Confederate Army Documents
Felix Zollicoffer, "To the People of Southeastern Kentucky", 16 December 1861
Robert E. Lee, Special Order 191, 9 September 1862 »
Lee's Proclamation to the People of Maryland, 8 September 1862
Robert E. Lee, "Farewell to the Army of Northern Virginia", 10 April 1865 »
Robert E. Lee, Report on the Seven Days' Battles, 6 March 1863 »
Personal Correspondence
Ulysses S. Grant to his father, April 1861 »
Robert E. Lee to his wife, July 1861 »
Ulysses S. Grant to his sister, Feb. 1862 »
President Lincoln to King Rama IV of Siam, Feb. 1862 »
Robert E. Lee to his wife, Dec. 1862 »
Ulysses S. Grant to his father, June 1863 »
Personal Narratives
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850) »
Recollections of the Battle of Perryville (1882) »
The Aftermath of the Carnage at Fort Fisher »
The Duel Between The "Alabama" And The "Kearsarge" (1886) »
Richard Kirkland, 'The Humane Hero of Fredericksburg' (1880) »
African American Soldiers of the Civil War
Christian Fleetwood's Eye Witness Account (1901) »
General Orders No. 1 - Mustering Out of 33rd U.S.C.T. (1866) »
"On St. Simon's Island" - from Reminiscences of My Life in Camp... (1902) »
Civil War Women
Susie King Taylor - Words from Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Col. C.T. Trowbridge, 33rd USCT (1902) »
Susie King Taylor - "Thoughts on Present Conditions" from Reminiscences.. (1902) »
Newspaper Articles
Political Cartoons
A Cure for Republican Lock-Jaw (1861) »
One Kind of Patriotism (1863) »
The Two Platforms- Columbia Makes Her Choice (1864 Election)
The Old Rip of the Shenandoah (1865) »
General Bombshells, the True Peace Candidate; or, the War Path the True One (1864 Election) »
Photographs
3-D Photography in the Civil War »
Photos at the Library of Congress »
Photos at the National Archives »
Photos at the Army Heritage and Education Center (MOLLUS collection) »
Broadsides, Illustrations, and Prints
E. D. Baker Memorial Pictorial Envelope (1861) »
George B. McClellan- 1864 Election Broadside »
Collections of Documents
Civil War Treasures »
A collection of Civil War primary source document from the Library of Congress
Civil War Women Archival Collection of Duke University »
A well-organized collection personal letters from women who played important roles during the American Civil War, including Rose O’Neal and Sarah E. Thompson.
Documents from Everyday Life »
The John A. McAllister Collection of Civil War Era Printed Ephemera, Graphics and Manuscripts
eHistory at Ohio State University »
This site contains numerous primary resources from the Civil War. Diaries and letters identified to specific individuals are available digitally for use.
Harper’s Weekly »
Excellent collection of political cartoons and other various primary resources.
Letters from an Iowa Soldier during the Civil War »
This is a site that contains transcripts of actual letters from Newton Robert Scott of the 36th Iowa Infantry volunteers. It provides an excellent source of primary documents as well as a great first hand account of the war itself.
Maine State Archives Civil War Page »
A website filled with first hand accounts and photos of men and women from the state of Maine, and their accomplishments during the Civil War.
Making of America »
Making of America (MoA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. It contains thousands of resources from the time period that are digitally accessible.
The African American Civil War Memorial Museum »
This site offers some invaluable primary resources that showcase some of the numerous contribution made to the Northern war effort by African American soldiers.
The Papers of Jefferson Davis »
A collection of papers related to Jefferson Davis created through a documentary editing project based at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Union Recruitment Posters from the McAllister Collection »
The McAllister collection offers a clear view of some of the recruiting posters used in Pennsylvania during the war.
Valley of the Shadows »
An excellent source of primary documents that provide numerous records from Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania that span from before until well after the Civil War. This website allows the viewer to see how the people were affected in both the North and the South by the Civil War.
Civil War Collections at Michigan State University »
This site features a multitude of digitized collections, which include letters, diaries, family papers, photographs, regimental records, and other Civil War-era documents.
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