Civil War Websites

The June 1, 2011, issue of Booklist has an article with several recommended websites about the Civil War. This year is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of that bloody period in American history, so if you're interested in any aspect of it you'll probably find sources of information listed below.


COMMEMORATIVE SITES
Civil War Trust's Civil War 150th Anniversary -- Here you will find links to individual states' 150th anniversary websites. There are also links to the Civil War blogs of the New York Times and the Washington Post.

The Civil War -- has a complete run of Harper's Weekly, 1861-1865.

Lincoln at 200 -- includes an online exhibit about his role in the Civil War.

The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln

The Civil War: 150 Years -- the National Park Service's website

CivilWar@Smithsonian


MAPS AND IMAGES
Civil War Maps -- Library of Congress American Memory collection

Gilmer Civil War Maps Collection -- from UNC

The Becker Collection: Drawings of the American Civil War Era -- Boston College collection

Selected Civil War Photographs -- this is just one collection from the Library of Congress; if you poke around their website you'll find several more


THOSE WHO SERVED
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

History of African Americans in the Civil War -- from the National Park Service

Civil War Women: Primary Sources on the Internet -- from Duke University

Women Soldiers of the Civil War -- National Archives


MUSIC AND POETRY
Band Music from the Civil War Era -- Library of Congress American Memory

Poetry and Music of the War Between the States


PERSONAL HISTORIES
American Civil War Collections at the Electronic Text Center -- from the University of Virginia

United States Civil War Collection: Civil War Diaries -- Western Michigan University Libraries

Hospital Sketches, by Louisa May Alcott

A Diary from Dixie, by Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut

"My Precious Lulie ...": Love Letters of the Civil War

There are other sites listed in the article along with some brief commentary. To read the whole thing, check with your local library to see if they can get you a copy. Also, many of these sites are pieces of a whole. If you look around within a site, you'll often find more information.

I would also add the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, which you can find at the Internet Archive. Various formats for viewing are listed on the left. You can also find it at Civil War Home organized by battle. Cornell University's Making of America has the Official Records plus the naval records.

photo courtesy of Flickr