Primary Sources - History - U. S. Civil War - LibGuides at Montana State University Billings

Diaries & Letters

Lincolniana at Brown University
A digital collection of broadsides, letters, manuscripts, sheet music, newspapers and graphics by or about Abraham Lincoln.
The Valley of the Shadow
A is a digital archive of primary sources that document the lives of people in Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, during the era of the American Civil War. The Valley Project is a part of the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia.
Rachel Cormany Diary, June 14 - July 6, 1863
An excerpt from a woman's diary describing the town of Chambersburg during the Gettysburg campaign. Taken from The Cormany Diaries: A Northern Family in the Civil War, James C. Mohr, editor, Richard E. Winslow, III, assistant editor, (Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1982), pp. 328-341.
Sarah E. Thompson Papers, 1859-1898
The materials in this collection center around the murder of Thompson's husband, her intelligence work for the Union army which led to the defeat of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, and her subsequent post-war struggles against poverty, largely as a single mother.
Papers Relating to Foreign Affars & Assassination of President Lincoln
These documents embody the grief and
shattered hopes expressed by foreign governments, civic groups,
opinion leaders, religious organizations, professional societies, and
ordinary laborers, both at home and abroad, upon learning of President
Abraham Lincoln’s assassination on the evening of April 14, 1865."

Civil War Documents

Step back in time by clicking the images below to view important Civil War documents.

Emancipation Proclamation

The First Draft and The Proclamation Issued

Click here to view more documents about the Emancipation Proclamation.

(from the American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Top Treasures)

Gettysburg Address

First Draft of the Gettysburg Address

Click here to see more documents about the Gettysburg Adress

(from the American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Top Treasures)

Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address

Lincoln's handwritten message to his cabinet members.

Click here to see more documents related to Lincoln's 2nd Inauguration.

(from the American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Top Treasures)

History Databases

These history databases contain primary source material. You will be prompted to supply your username and password when using these databases from off campus. Click here for information on resetting your password.

Civil War Era Archive (ProQuest)

Founders Archive
- This link opens in a new window
more...less...
119,000+ searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative, federally funded Founding Fathers Papers project. Includes correspondence and other writings of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison.

U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1817-1944)
more...less...
The Serial Set contains House and Senate Documents as well as House and Senate Reports. The reports are typically from congressional committees dealing with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. The documents include all other papers printed by the House or Senate. Documents cover a wide variety of topics and may include reports of executive departments and independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental organizations.

Slavery & Anti-Slavery Archive

Miscellaneous

Ulysses S. Grant Digital Collection
31 volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, political cartoons, and sheet music, with more materials being added as processing continues.
Digital History - Learn about the Civil War
Numerous primary documents from the Civil War period along with timelines, fact sheets and photographs.
Ulysses S. Grant Papers (LOC)
This Library of Congress collection relates to Grant's service in the Mexican War and Civil War, his pre-Civil War career, and his postwar service as U.S. secretary of war.

History - U. S. Civil War: Primary Sources

Diaries & Letters

Civil War Documents

History Databases

Miscellaneous