Digital Archives - History - US Civil War - University Libraries at Coastal Carolina University

Official Records of Union and Confederate Army/Navy

History Vault This link opens in a new window
Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War subcollection
Confederate Military Manuscripts and Records of Union Generals and the Union Army (1854-1870)
The Confederate Army records cover the perspective of an army commander or an administrative department down to the level of the private soldier, covering all aspects of their military service and experience, while also offering glimpses of life on the home front. The Union Army records include papers of spies, scouts, guides and detectives, including a series on Allan Pinkerton; records on military discipline from courts-martial, courts of inquiry and investigations by military commissions; and records of the U.S. Colored Troops.

Confederate States of America
"With few exceptions, the collection consists of official or semiofficial records generated by departments of the Confederate government and their agents. The departments of state, justice, treasury, navy, war, and the post office are represented, along with material relating to the president, congress, and constitution."
Descriptive List of Deserters (PA)
Physical, military and demographic information for nearly 30,000 Union soldiers from Pennsylvania who enlisted in the Union army and later failed to report for duty and were subsequently cited as deserters. The roster was compiled from monthly lists that were submitted to the Provost Marshal and Adjutant General between 1861 and 1865.
Foreign Relations of the United States (1861-2000)
Foreign Relations Series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.from Lincoln to Clinton.

History Vault This link opens in a new window
Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantations Records, Part 1

Original documents from South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi covering all aspects of plantation life in the late 1700's through Emancipation.

Valley of the Shadow
Project focusing on the Civil War and its effects on two communities,one in Virginia and the other in Pennsylvania.
The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition
Yale site that contains primary documents covering from approximately 1692 to the 20th century. Topics vary around the central theme.
Soldiers and Sailors Database
"The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time. "

Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive Parts 1 - 4 This link opens in a new window
Primary source materials. Part I: Debates over Slavery and Abolition; Part 2: The Slave Trade in the Atlantic World; Part 3: The Institution of Slavery; Part 4: Age of Emancipation. Includes collections on the transatlantic slave trade, the global movement for the abolition of slavery, the legal, personal, and economic aspects of the slavery system, and the dynamics of emancipation in the U.S. as well as in Latin America, the Caribbean, and other regions.

Documenting the American South
Access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes twelve thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.
Nineteenth Century Documents Project
Representative primary texts of the 19th Century, with a particular focus on South Carolina. (archived in the WayBack Machine)

Gerritsen Collection - Womens History Online, 1543-1945 This link opens in a new window
Digital images of books, pamphlets, and periodicals covering the history of women, rights, suffrage, and feminism from continental Europe, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand.

Making of America
Digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction, located at the University of Michigan and Cornell University
National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) collects documents of historical importance to the US. Collections include service records, photos, documents, and online exhibits of digitized materials from the vaults.ariety of online exhibits focusing on documents from the NARA collections. Documents include papers, letters, official documents, photographs, and posters.
Library of Congress: Digital Collections
Extensive digital collections on topics, people, and events in American history from the wide-range of Library of Congress primary resources.