Primary Sources: U.S. Civil War

"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. "

Available in: American Historical Documents, 1000–1904.
The Harvard Classics
from Bartleby.com

Internet Archives

Mary Henry: Eyewitness to the Civil War; Solomon Brown: First African American Employee at the Smithsonian; "Snowflake Bentley": Pioneering Photographer of Snowflakes; James Renwick, Jr.: Architect of Smithsonian Buildings;

1862
From the Internet Archive

"Major Sullivan Ballou was a 32-year-old lawyer from Providence, Rhode Island, who volunteered with the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry. This prophetic letter was written to his wife, Sarah, a week before he was mortally wounded in the first battle of Manassas. This letter is quoted from Henry S. Burrage's 1868 volume, Brown University in the Civil War: A Memorial (pp. 105-7), courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society."
National Park Service

"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."

"Drawn from the Library’s collections, the presentation that follows gathers the key documents linked to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address."

Available in American Historical Documents, 1000–1904.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.
from Bartleby.com

on the afternoon of July 2, 1863, on the battlefield of Gettysburg D. E. Sickles.

Lieut. governor of Ohio, in answer to his charges against our generals who fought the battle of Shiloh, on the 6th of April, 1862.
HathiTrust Digital Library

9 broadsides

later from the Army of the Mississippi : the army moving, Gen A.S. Johnston's address to the army : the eve of battle.

1 broadside from HathiTrust

"Reader (b. 1842), of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, was a private in the West Virginia 5th Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army. His diary covers the period from March 10th until June 25 following his capture. It includes the battle of New Market and the burning of V.M.I. and homes in Lexington by Union troops under the command of General David Hunter."

"The VMI Corps of Cadets fought as a unit at the Battle of New Market, Virginia, on May 15, 1864. Two hundred fifty seven cadets were on the field, organized into a battalion of four companies of Infantry and one section of Artillery. Ten cadets were killed in battle or died later from the effects of their wounds; 45 were wounded. The youngest participating cadet was fifteen; the oldest twenty-five."

Documents related to Gabriel's Conspiracy in 1800, Nat Turner's Rebellion in Southampton County in 1831, and John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.

By John Brown
Available in The World’s Famous Orations.
America: II. (1818–1865) on Bartleby.com

Remarks of Senators Clay of Alabama, Gwin of California, and others, delivered in the Senate of the United States, December 13, 1859.

Items in the Virgina Military Institute's archives about the involvement of cadet's at the execution. "The VMI cadets reached Charles Town on November 26th and were relieved from duty on December 6th. They returned to Lexington via Richmond, where they were greeted by the Governor and members of the Virginia Assembly."

Download the original lyrics and transcripts of songs about John Brown. The site also provides an analysis of the work.

THE LIFE, TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN KNOWN AS "OLD BROWN OF OSSAWATOMIE,"
WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE ATTEMPTED
INSURRECTION AT HARPER'S FERRY.
COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL AND AUTHENTIC SOURCES.
Including Cooke's Confession, and all the Incidents of the Execution.
NEW YORK. ROBERT M. DE WITT, PUBLISHER.
161 & 162 NASSAU STREET.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by ROBERT M. DE WITT, In the Clerks's Office of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Provided by The Avalon Project at Yale.

Also on MICRO LAC 15838

By William Lloyd Garrison
From The World’s Famous Orations. America: II. (1818–1865).
on Bartleby.com

By Henry David Thoreau; October 30, 1859
Provided by The Avalon Project at Yale

Collection of newspaper editorials regarding the raid.

"Relive the Battle of Hampton Roads through eye-witness accounts and contemporary interpretations. Examine archaeological discoveries and learn how the event was viewed by the 19th-century press. Delve into all aspects relating to the design, construction, and operation of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. Review material from the NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary USS Monitor Collection and related material on Civil War naval history." Visit the Mariner's Museum Library located inside Trible Library

Confederate States of America, Navy Department, Richmond, March 11th, 1862.
Signed: S.B. Mallory [sic]
Transmitted with "Message of the President ... March 11, 1862."
Covering "the official report of the naval engagement between the James River squadron, under the command of Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, and the enemy's fleet, in Hampton Roads, on the 8th instant," that report signed: Catesby ap R. Jones.

"... holds the largest maritime history collection in the Western Hemisphere." The collection includes over 1,750,000 items ranging from books and magazines, to rare materials, vessel plans, and photographs. The website provides access to the Library's online catalog and finding aids. An image database is also available for searching.