Research Guides: HIST 712: US Civil War Era Research Seminar HIST 712 (Spring 2025): Unpublished Letters

Worldcat & Primo

WorldCat This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Materials held by thousands of libraries in the US and abroad. Books, websites, computer programs, films, slides, journals, magazines, papers, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, newspapers, sound recordings, videotapes, etc. Coverage: Before 1000BC-present.

Main Library Catalog
Direct link to the advanced search page of the main library catalog.

The official subject heading for letters is "correspondence" though sometimes it is listed as correspondences. I suggest using correspondence* as a subject. Combined this with an individual or topic.

Since we are looking for unpublished materials, you can narrow the publication date on this one, either in the WM catalog or in WorldCat

Example. Subject search for correspondence* AND "civil war" in the main library catalog, publication dates limited 1861-1865
This brings up unpublished letters in our collection, and this would work in WorldCat too

You can also search for a name or topic, and search Letters within the Title field. Again, limit publication dates.

Example: Letter* AND "civil war" in title field, publication range 1861-1865
This brings up letters in our collections

When searching in the catalog and worldcat, use the Archives tabs to narrow specifically to archival materials.

This will include individual items and whole collections.

Databases

Full list of Letters databases
Mostly unpublished materials, but not exclusively

Some highlights

American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
This release contains 2,009 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of diaries, letters and memoirs. Includes 4,000 pages of previously unpublished manuscripts such as the letters of Amos Wood and his wife and the diary of Maryland Planter William Claytor.
American Indian Correspondence: Presbyterian Historical Society Collection of Missionaries Letters, 1833-1893 This link opens in a new window
Descriptions of peoples and cultures, tribal factionalism, relations with the US government, sex roles, efforts at Christian education, aboriginal and post-contact Indian culture, the many problems and achievements of missionary work, etc. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1833-1893.
Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
Black Thought and Culture contains 1,303 sources with 1,210 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched more thoroughly than ever before. Where possible the complete published non-fiction works are included, as well as interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamphlets, letters and other fugitive material.
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diariesincludes the immediate experiences of approximately 500 women, as revealed in over 100,000 pages of diaries and letters. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched more thoroughly than ever before. The collection now includes primary materials spanning more than 300 years. Each source has been carefully chosen using leading bibliographies. The collection also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database. Coverage: 1500-1950
Early Encounters in North America This link opens in a new window
Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the Environment contains 1,482 authors and over 100,000 pages of letters, diaries, memoirs and accounts of early encounters.
Gilded Age This link opens in a new window
The Gilded Age provides insight into the key issues that shaped America in the late nineteenth century, including race and ethnicity, immigration, labor, women's rights, American Indians, political corruption, and monetary policy. Contains speeches, letters, diaries, interviews, video clips, artwork, song lyrics, and other ephemera. Coverage: 1865-1902
Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954 This link opens in a new window
Based on a rich variety of original manuscript collections from the American Jewish Historical Society in New York, this resource offers captivating insights into the everyday lives of the American Jewish population over three centuries. Collection includes 24 collections of personal papers (which include letters, scrapbooks, autobiographies, and notebooks), 6 collections of organizational papers, photographs, and printed books and pamphlets.
Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries from the American Antiquarian Society, 1750-1950 brings together 100,000 pages of the personal writings of women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, displayed as high-quality images of the original manuscripts, semantically indexed and online for the first time.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories includes 2,162 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of information, so providing a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950. Composed of contemporaneous letters and diaries, oral histories, interviews, and other personal narratives relating to American and Canadian immigrants.
North American Indian Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
This fifth release of North American Indian Thought and Culture contains over 119,000 pages of text and images. Included are biographies, auto-biographies, personal narratives, speeches, diaries, letters, and oral histories.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
North American Women's Letters and Diaries includes the immediate experiences of 1,325 women and 150,000 pages of diaries and letters. Includes Canadian authors. Coverage: Colonial to 1950
ProQuest Civil War Era This link opens in a new window
This database covers a vast range of topics including the formative economic factors and other forces that led to the abolitionist movement, the 600,000 battle casualties and the emancipation of nearly 4 million slaves. Includes newspapers, advertisements, editorials, letters, obituaries, ephemera
War Department and Indian Affairs, 1800-1824 This link opens in a new window
The relationship between the US government and Native American nations. Letters to and from the War Department, speeches, proceedings of conferences, licenses of traders, passports for Indian country, instructions to commissioners, superintendents, agents & other officials, etc. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1800-1824.
Women and Social Movements International This link opens in a new window
Women and Social Movements, International is a landmark collection of primary materials. Through the writings of women activists, their personal letters and diaries, and the proceedings of conferences at which pivotal decisions were made, this collection lets you see how womens social movements shaped much of the events and attitudes that have defined modern life. Cover: 1840-present