The Civil War Archive—The History of the Civil War in Documents

Hundreds of papers, letters, memoirs -- culled from family records, private correspondences, public archives and a variety of other sources -- trace the war from the nomination of Abraham Lincoln, through violent battles at Bull Run, to the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, Reconstruction and beyond. Messages from lonely mothers at home, stories from soldiers on the front lines, lyrics to rousing battle hymns, confidential communications among officers - these primary documents render history in its rawest form and depict the war's impact on every spectrum of American society.

Expanding upon Henry Steele Commager's critically-acclaimed two-volume The Blue and the Gray, editor Erik Bruun brings to light new material that presents the Civil War through a contemporary lens, taking into account previously under-represented perspectives of blacks in the Civil War and including new sections on the war's aftermath and Reconstruction.

Entries are arranged chronologically, allowing The Civil War Archive to be read as a start-to-finish narrative of the war and its aftermath. In addition, each document is indexed by author and title, so history buffs can reference each piece by source or subject.