LibGuides: Civil War Resources in Duke's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library: Literature and Music

Civil War Literary Manuscript Collections

This list contains literary manuscript collections of individuals and organizations active during the Civil War, or commenting upon it directly. Many additional small collections, and related collections of authors influenced by or preceding the war, such as Thomas Nelson Page, Alexander Beaufort Meek, and Thomas Holley Chivers can also be found in the Library.

Confederate Veteran
The records for this periodical published between 1893 and 1932 include many folders of poetry about the Civil War submitted to the periodical, as well as memoirs, reminiscences, and biographies.
John Esten Cooke (1830-1886)
Papers of one of the few novelists to see active duty in the Confederate Army include Civil War-era letters and journals and manuscript copies of his works "Surry of Eagle's Nest," "A legend of Turkey Buzzard Hollow," and "On the road to despotism." Also includes some letters of his brother, the poet Philip Pendleton Cooke.
Charles François Deléry (1815-1880)
New Orleans, La. physician and writer.
Collection consists of handwritten poems in French by Deléry, transcribed by Marie Reynes. Includes some poems on Civil War and Reconstruction-era subjects.
Jeannie A. Dickson
Writer of Charleston, S.C. Papers consisting primarily of letters and poems of Paul Hamilton Hayne, George Herbert Sass, and John R. Thompson, including Southern views on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Fuller Family Papers
Correspondence and other papers of Jones Fuller, broker and merchant, and of his son, Edwin Wiley Fuller, poet and novelist, both of Louisburg, N.C.; and of their cousin, William George Thomas, physician, of Wilmington, N.C. Most of the material is for 1840-1870. Correspondence comments on American literature and history, politics, secession, the cotton and drug businesses, Civil War conditions in Wilmington, blockade running, and other topics.
Paul Hamilton Hayne Papers (1830-1886)
One of the two principal bodies of Hayne's papers, as well as 1,500 items from his personal library. Hayne was a prominent poet of the Confederate cause and later editor of Russell's Magazine, published in Charleston, S.C.
James Hill Hutchins Poems, 1834-1881
A volume of original poetry by James Hill Hutchins of Austin, Texas, including poetry dating from the Civil War, poetry about historic events in Texas, and other topics.
Clara Victoria Dargan Maclean Papers (1849-1920)
Papers of Columbia, S. C., poet and novelist Clara Maclean. Included in the collection are correspondence and diaries from the Civil War era, scrapbooks, and other papers containing information on Southern literature and the effect of the Civil War on literary effort and remuneration.
Eugene Marshall Papers (1839-1962)
A Union Army volunteer from Minnesota, Marshall's papers include poetry, speeches, newspaper articles and letters to the editor, historical sketches, etc. on his experiences during the war.
McMullen Family Papers
Contains manuscripts of works by Confederate poet John B. Tabb and others in Box 31.
Munford-Ellis Family Papers
Includes the correspondence and writings of George Wythe Munford, Confederate officer of Virginia, and other family members from the Civil War period.
William Gilmore Simms Papers, 1838-1870
Poet and novelist, of Charleston, S.C.
Personal, literary, and political correspondence dealing principally with the publication of Simms' books and many projected works. Letters from Simms to Alfred Billings, Armistead Burt, Paul Hamilton Hayne, and Joel Robert Poinsett discuss literary and current political matters. Other letters comment on Abraham Lincoln, George B. McClellan, James Ryder Randall, and the nature of poetry.
M. J. Solomons Scrapbook, 1861-1863
Scrapbook kept by a Savannah, Ga. resident during the Civil War, containing clippings from a number of newspapers, including much Southern poetry.
Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth Papers, 1849-1901
Novelist, of Georgetown (Washington, D.C.).
Includes literary, business, and personal correspondence. A series of letters to and from Robert Bonner, editor of the New York Ledger, relates to literary matters, the publication of Mrs. Southworth's writings, other business matters, and Mrs. Southworth's disdain for the Confederacy.
Augustin L. Taveau (1828-1886)
Planter and author of Charleston, S.C., and Chaptico, Md.
Family, personal, literary, and business correspondence and literary manuscripts (chiefly 1830-1886) of Taveau. The collection contains information about his education, activities as a poet, career in the Confederate Army, postwar condemnation of Confederate leaders. The collection includes correspondence from and about many prominent literary figures.
Thomas Taylor
Confederate soldier, farmer, writer, and inventor, of Warrenton (Fauquier Co.), Va.
Correspondence, diary, writings, business papers, and scrapbooks, 1862-1906. The bulk of the collection consists of manuscripts of Taylor's short stories, poems, and novels, and material concerning his successful inventions. Other items relate to planting in Louisiana, life in the Confederacy, farming in Virginia after the war, and his unsuccessful literary career. Includes letters of the Taylor family.
"A Trip to Fort Monroe"
Account of a trip from New York City to Fort Monroe, Va., ca. 1863, with a poet, a sculptor, and a tragedian as traveling companions. Travelogue describes group's experiences while en route by rail and steamboat. Includes descriptions of Union soldiers, forts, and prisons, as well as several military anecdotes. Apparently a fictionalized account intended for publication. Author unknown.
Catherine A. Warfield (1816-1877)
Volume entitled "Southern Songs" containing poems written by this popular poet and novelist, telling the story of the Civil War in verse and illustrating her Southern sympathies. Some items have been published.
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana includes Civil War-era correspondence to and by Whitman, and manuscripts of works written by Whitman during or about the war.

Civil War Bestsellers

The following list, of books which sold over 300,000 copies in the U.S. during the Civil War years (excluding bibles, hymnals, textbooks, almanacs, cookbooks, manuals, and reference works), is drawn from Frank Luther Mott's Golden Multitudes: The Story of Best Sellers in the United States.

Mary E. Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret
First published in 1862, later editions available in Special Collections and Perkins Library. A Confederate edition (Mobile, AL, 1864) has been digitized from Duke's collections. One of the most popular English "sensation" novels.
William Gannaway Brownlow, Sketches of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of the Secession...
First published in 1862, and popularly known as Parson Brownlow's Book, it is the work of a pro-Union editor, minister, and politician who later became governor of Tennessee. Four letters by Brownlow are also available in Special Collections.
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
First published in 1861, first and subsequent editions in Special Collections. A Confederate edition (Mobile, AL, 1863) has been digitized from Duke's collections.
Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend
First published in 1865, first and subsequent editions in Special Collections.
Mary Mapes Dodge, Hans Brinker, or, The Silver Skates
First published in 1865, later editions available in Perkins Library.
George Eliot, Silas Marner
First published in 1861, first and subsequent editions in Special Collections. A Confederate edition (Mobile, AL, 1863) has been digitized from Duke's collections.
Edward S. Ellis, Seth Jones
First published in 1860, later edition in Special Collections. A dime novel set in New York wilderness in 1785.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, German Popular Tales and Household Stories
This edition first published 1861 in two volumes; Special Collections has vol. 2 and subsequent editions.
Miriam Coles Harris, Rutledge
First published in 1860, later edition in Perkins Library LSC. A Gothic novel of an unnamed heroine's adventures.
Victor Hugo, Les Miserables
First published in 1862 in five volumes, Special Collections holds the first French edition as well as the first one-volume American edition (1863). A Confederate edition (Richmond, VA, 1863-64, five volumes) has been digitized from Duke's collections.
Owen Meredith, Lucile
First published in 1860, many later editions available in Special Collections and Perkins Library. A Romantic narrative poem published by Robert, Lord Lytton, under his Owen Meredith pseudonym.
Ann S. Stephens, Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter
First published in 1860, later edition in Perkins Library LSC. The first of Beadle's dime novels. An 1864 sequel and two letters written by Stephens are also available in Special Collections.
E. D. E. N. Southworth, The Doom of Deville: The Fatal Marriage
First published in 1863, later edition and digitized version of first edition available in Perkins Library. "An outlaw's beautiful daughter is wronged and seeks vengeance" (Mott, p. 141). See above for a manuscript collection of Mrs. Southworth.
E. D. E. N. Southworth, Ishmael
First published in 1864, later editions and a digitized copy of the first edition available in Perkins Library. A rags-to-riches tale, the first part of Southworth's two-volume Self-Made.
E. D. E. N. Southworth, Self-Raised
Originally published in 1864, later editions and a digitized copy of the first edition available in Perkins Library. The sequel to Ishmael.
A. D. T. Whitney, Faith Gartney's Girlhood
First published in 1863, first edition in Perkins Library. Juvenile literature set in a New England village.
Mrs. Henry Wood, East Lynne
First published in 1861, later editions (including a Confederate edition) available in Special Collections and Perkins Library. An English "sensation" novel, it was adapted into a wildly successful play.

Civil War Music Collections

American Song Sheets Collection, circa 1830s-1920s, bulk 1850s-1880s
In the mid-nineteenth century, publishers printed the lyrics to popular songs on sheets called song sheets, handbills, or broadsides. These sheets were often illustrated with a woodcut and sold at gathering places where people sang together. Duke's collection of American song sheets includes 1,981 of these ephemeral productions. The American South and the Civil War era are well documented, including over 100 Confederate broadsides.
American Song Sheets Collection Online
We've completely digitized our American Song Sheets Collection, and it is freely available online.
Z.W. Anderson Band Book
A hand-written book of tunes used in the Confederate Army. Anderson served with the 37th Georgia Regiment.
Horace Smith Papers, 1864-1867
Horace Smith was a musician with the 8th Vermont Regiment, Union Army, from Williamstown (Orange Co.), Vt. The collection includes letters from Smith to his father, Horace Smith, and other members of his family, describing his experiences and the concerts and serenades presented by his band at the end of the Civil War, ending with the Grand Review of the Union Army in Washington, D.C.
Historic American Sheet Music
Provides digital scans of many of Duke's pieces of sheet music, including a number from the Civil War era. You may browse or search by composer, date, subject, and other criteria.

Finding More Sources

The links below use the subject heading "United States-History-Civil War, 1861-1865" in conjunction with the subheadings to find many contemporary and later literary works about the Civil War:

Fiction

Poetry

Drama

Literature and the War

Additional materials may be found by searching using the subheadings above as subject keywords and limiting the search to the dates 1861-1865.

Many literary works published in the Confederate states have been digitized from Duke's Confederate Imprints collection and can be found online here. In addition to Confederate imprints, Duke's Special Collections have strengths in humor, periodicals, and broadside verse of the period.