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Category: Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Sojourner Truth and the Power of a Portrait

Posted by: Stephen Wesson

A photograph of the abolitionist and suffrage activist Sojourner Truth that appears in the Library's newest Primary Source Set for educators, "Civil War Images: Depictions of African Americans in the War Effort," provides an opportunity to discover the questions that the objects in a portrait can raise about the message that image might have been meant to convey.

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

A Civil War Nurse’s Memoir: Discerning Women’s Experiences

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

Primary sources such as the letters and diaries of Civil War Nurse Mary Ann Bickerdyke offer rich insights into the lives of real people. The fragmented, personal nature of these sources requires careful reading in context and comparison across multiple accounts to glean information and construct understanding.

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Providing Comfort for Veterans: Primary Sources from the Civil War and Beyond

Posted by: Danna Bell

A number of years ago I published a blog post on wartime clothing drives. I touched briefly on clothing drives and the work to make handmade items for those serving in the military. As I considered what to write about for a post on Veterans Day, I was drawn back to this post.

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Reconstructing a Civil War Battle from a Poet’s Letter Home

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

In the May/June 2017 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article features a letter that Walt Whitman wrote to his mother on December 29, 1862. Whitman wrote the letter to let his mother know that he had found his brother George alive and healing from an injury sustained during the Battle of Fredericksburg.