primary materials

By Erica Bruchko, Librarian for United States History and African American Studies, Robert W. Woodruff Library, Emory University

The week of April 27^th – May 4^th 1861 was an eventful one for both Union and Confederate supporters. Virginia offered Richmond as the Confederate capital, Maryland voted against secession, and President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation to increase the size of the Union Army. This history, along with other key events of the American Civil War, is recorded within the Woodruff Library’s extensive digital collection of Civil War Era materials. By exploring  Emory’s database portal, students and scholars can find important newspapers, letters, diaries and other sources, which provide a window into the lives of the men and women who experienced the War firsthand. Some collection highlights include:

Emory Libraries has contributed 430 digital items/objects to the ASERL Civil War digital project.  The "Civil War & the American South:  Primary source materials from the Southeast’s leading research libraries.”  Emory's contributions to the site can be found under "MARBL" under "contributing institutions."  You can limit your search to collections at select institutions, including our own.  Thanks to MARBL (especially David Faulds) and the Digitization and Digital Curation Team for selecting and d