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Primary Sources: U.S. Civil War: Documents
Primary sources related to the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865)
"On April 9, 1865, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in the parlor of a house in Appomattox Court House, VA, to discuss this surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, which would end the Civil War. According to the terms, the men of Lee's army could return home in safety if they pledged to end the fighting and deliver their arms to the Union Army. "
"On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Passage of this law came 8 1/2 months before President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. " National Archives
"Order from General William T. Sherman to General James B. McPherson directing General Dodge's 16th Corps, U.S. Army, to destroy the railroad between Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia. McPherson was killed shortly after by Confederate skirmishers in the Battle of Atlanta. " 22 July 1864
Georgia's Virtual Vault
"Perhaps the most famous battle of the Civil War took place at Gettysburg, PA, July 1 to July 3, 1863. At the end of the battle, the Union's Army of the Potomac had successfully repelled the second invasion of the North by the Confederacy's Army of Northern Virginia. Several months later, President Lincoln went to Gettysburg to speak at the dedication of the cemetery for the Union war dead. Speaking of a "new birth of freedom," he delivered one of the most memorable speeches in U.S. history."
"Memorandum accompanying papers taken from the body of Major General James B. McPherson, commander of the U.S. Army of the Tennessee. McPherson was killed by Confederate skirmishers in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864 between Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia. " 22 July 1864
Georgia's Virtual Vault
(Proclamations 82 and 86), 4/27/1861 - 8/16/1861
Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2004
Civil War Prize Case Files
Series ARC ID 620244
"On May 29, 1865, President Johnson issued a proclamation of amnesty and pardon for the citizens of those Confederate states that had not been restored under Lincoln’s Reconstruction policy."
CNU ONLY
"The first engagement of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter on April 12 and 13, 1861. After 34 hours of fighting, the Union surrendered the fort to the Confederates. "
"This poster was used to recruit recently freed slaves to fight in the Civil War for the Union Army. The men were recruited for military duty with the promise of freedom, protection and pay."
"The War Department issued General Order 143 on May 22, 1863, creating the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10 percent of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army, and another 19,000 served in the Navy."
Book Sources: Civil War Documents
A selection of books/e-books available in Trible Library.
Click the title for location and availability information.
"Strong collection of annotated primary documents from the Civil War years present a wide range of opinions, North and South, on the major political and military controversies of the time."
Suggested terms to look for include - diary, diaries, letters, papers, documents, documentary or correspondence.
Combine these these terms with the event or person you are researching. (example: civil war diary)
Also search by subject for specific people and events, then scan the titles for those keywords or others such as memoirs, autobiography, report, or personal narratives.