Before 1861
Sectional crisis
Abolition, slavery, political campaigns, militia culture, secession, newspapers, broadsides, maps, and family archives.
The war ran from 1861 to 1865, but collectible material also includes the sectional crisis before it and veterans’ memory for decades afterward.
1861
Mobilization
Recruiting, camps, early uniforms, commissions, patriotic covers, photographs, letters, newspapers, and rapid procurement.
1862
Expansion and hard war
Hospitals, prisons, major campaigns, local aid, mourning, fiscal strain, and the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
1863
Emancipation and USCT service
United States Colored Troops recruitment, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, draft resistance, currency, photographs, and family correspondence.
1864
Mass campaigns and election
Overland and Atlanta campaigns, prisons, presidential politics, veterans, short-service units, and deepening home-front strain.
1865
End of war and beginning of memory
Surrender, assassination, mustering out, emancipation, occupation, return home, pensions, mourning, and immediate memorial culture.
After 1865
Veterans and commemoration
GAR, UCV, reunions, monuments, battlefield tourism, memoirs, regimental histories, veterans’ portraits, badges, ribbons, and contested memory.