The Civil War 1860 - 1865
A Newspaper Perspective

This database contains the full text of major articles gleaned from over 2,500 issues of The New York Herald, The Charleston Mercury and the Richmond Enquirer, published between November 1, 1860 and April 15, 1865. Coverage begins with the events preceding the outbreak of war at Fort Sumter, continues through the surrender at Appomattox and concludes with the assassination and funeral of Abraham Lincoln. Included are descriptive news articles, eye-witness accounts and official reports of battles and events, editorials, advertisements and biographies. A major effort also has been made to include articles which describe other than military concerns of the day. These include such topics as travel, arts and leisure, geographical descriptions, sports and sporting, social events, and the like

Since all major events are described in detail by both Union and Confederate newspapers, their opposing perspectives are readily available for comparative evaluations.