Manuscript Resources on The Civil War
This guide describes collections documenting the Civil War in the Lower Mississippi Valley, including the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas, in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) at LSU. The guide includes not only materials from the war years (1861-1865) themselves, but also materials from later periods containing manuscript sources for Civil War history. Thus such sources as post-war reminiscences and records of veterans' groups--materials dealing with the war as memory and experience--will be found alongside soldiers' and civilians' letters, diaries, and daybooks from the war itself. In addition, the guide includes collections of papers of Louisiana and other area soldiers who fought outside of the Lower Mississippi Valley.
LSU's holdings of Civil War manuscripts make LLMVC a rich treasure-trove for researchers. Many researchers are studying these documents from new perspectives, to see what they have to tell us about women's experiences on the home front and about Louisiana's African Americans, a significant number of whom fought for the Union. Louisiana played a central role in the war, with the fall of Port Hudson in July 1863 a critical event. Much of the state was long occupied by Union forces, and LLMVC contains the papers of numerous Union as well as Confederate soldiers. Other areas of strength include materials documenting the siege of Vicksburg, the Battle of Shiloh, and the Red River campaign.
|
A Song for the Ladies broadside, circa 1863. 1 item. Location: MISC:S. The author of the broadside, "Bones," was a drummer in Company G of the 77th Illinois Infantry Regiment, formerly of the 130th Illinois. Lyrics compare virtues of soldiers to flaws of men who stayed at home. For further information see online catalog. Mss. 4290 Referenced in Guides: Performing arts, Civil War
|
|
|
A. F. Whelan Diary, 1865-1866 One vol. Location: G:20. A.F. Whelan served in the U.S. Army, 3rd Michigan Cavalry, Co. Diary concerns the final days of the war, with entries on Lincoln's assassination, capture of Jefferson Davis, and the steamship, SULTANA. Entries refer to insubordination, desertion and prisoners, and General Sheridan's march to Texas. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4747 Referenced in Guides: Transportation, Civil War
|
|
|
Abstract of wages paid to teachers employed in city colored schools, Memphis, Tennessee, 1864 December. 1 item. Location: Misc:A. Abstract signed by T. A. Walker, captain, 63rd United States Colored Infantry, listing wages to teachers in African American schools in Memphis, Tennessee, administered by the Freedman's Department during the Union occupation. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3092. |
|
|
Account of the Red River Expedition, ca. 1890. 1 item (28 pages). Location: Misc:A. Union soldier in the Civil War, a Vermont native in Nim's 2nd Massachusetts Battery. Anonymously written account of the Red River Expedition in Louisiana. The writer speculates about the reasons for and possible outcomes of the expedition and comments on generals Butler and Banks. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3422. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
|
|
|
Achord, M. H. Map, 1931. 1 item. Location: OS:A. Map drawn from memory by M. H. Achord depicting an area on the boundary of East Baton Rouge Parish and Livingston Parish, Louisiana. The map indicates that a Civil War skirmish or other war-related incident took place in this area. Available on University Publications of America microfilm 5735: Confederate Military Manuscripts Series B, Reel 1. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 893. Referenced in Guides: Civil War, Baton Rouge
|