Women and the Civil War

Manuscript sources in the Special Collections Library at Duke University

Civil War Women: Primary Sources on the Internet provides links to manuscript collections at Duke which have been scanned and transcribed as well as links to other Civil War women's archival documents which are available in cyberspace.

The following list describes original manuscript collections, held in Duke University's Special Collections Library, which document women's experiences during the Civil War. A few of the collections are available via the Internet and have been hot-linked. Researchers are encouraged to consult the Duke Libraries online catalog for more detailed information about the collections listed here or contact our Reference Desk for information on ordering copies from any of the collections listed.

The Special Collections Library also houses numerous published sources such as religious tracts, broadsides, magazines and newspapers that provide valuable information about women's lives during the Civil War. Researchers should consult with the Women's Studies Reference Archivist or other reference staff to find out more about identifying and locating these materials.

African American/Slave Women during the Civil War Era

Most of the collections listed below document women's experiences during the Civil War from the perspectives of white women. Since few black women knew how or had the opportunity to read or write before the Civil War, there is very little documentation about their lives which exists in their own words. Learning about black women's experiences during this time period is not impossible, but requires using different types of documentation and research methodologies. Plantation records, slave letters, and the diaries and letters of white women can be used to explore various aspects of African American women's lives during the Civil War period. For ideas of possible topics and collections consult the bibliography Retrieving African American Women's History or talk with a reference archivist

Ambler-Brown Family Papers, 1780-1865. Charles Town, W. Va. and Fauquier Co., Va.

Diary of Lucy Johnson Ambler, 1862-1863 (17 pp.) comments on major Civil War battles, civilian morale and hardships, and depredations by Union troops.

William B. G. Andrews Papers, 1862-1870. Pittsylvania Co, Va.

Personal letters from a Confederate soldier mention death of a female slave.

Bedinger-Dandridge Family Papers, 1763-1957. Shepherdstown, W. Va.

Large collection of family papers contains correspondence among the women during the war.

Harriette H. Branham Diary, 1861-1863. Gordonsville, Va.

Diary of Va. woman concerned with local events of Civil War such as troop activity, civilian life, and economic conditions.

Elizabeth J. Holmes Blanks Papers, 1832-1888. Fayetteville, N.C.

Personal and business correspondence of family of planters and lawyers includes considerable correspondence among the women of the family. Topics include personal affairs, religious discussions, prophecy, stories of hardships and anxieties related to the Civil War. (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Amy Morris Bradley Papers, 1806-1921. Wilmington, N.C.

Correspondence, diaries, and records document New Englander's duties as a nurse at U.S. Sanitary Commission convalescent camps during the war and her efforts to establish free schools for blacks and whites in Wilmington, N.C. directly following the war. (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Huldah Annie Fain Briant Papers, 1846-1888. Santa Luca, Ga.

War correspondence of Briant is chiefly from her husband-to-be but includes account of the impressment of a local Jew's merchandise for the army by women.

Rhoda S. Briggs Letters, 1852-1874. Elsworth, N.Y.

Letters to Briggs from friends and relatives, mostly women, in Bloomington, Ill., Rochester, N.Y., and elsewhere discussing social and family matters and containing Northern reactions to the Civil War.

Mary M. Carr Diary, 1860-1865. Bastrop, La.

Chronicles the day-to-day life on a cotton plantation and the relationship of the Carrs with friends and neighbors. (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Mary Jane Cook Chadick Diary, 1862-1865. Huntsville, Al.

Describes Federal raids on and occupation of Huntsville and comments on local people and trouble with slaves occasioned by the presence of Federal troops.

Clement Claiborne Clay Papers, 1811-1925. Huntsville, Al.

Papers of a lawyer, senator, Confederate diplomat, and planter from Huntsville Al., includes Civil War correspondence among the women in the family and the diaries and scrapbooks, 1859-1905, of his wife, Virginia Tunstall Clay.

Confederate Veteran Papers, 1786-1933. Nashville, Tn.

Correspondence, unpublished articles, and other materials written for a periodical published between 1893 and 1932, includes information on the prison experience of women in Kansas City; Sally Tompkins, Capt. C.S.A; ballad of Emma Samson; Belle Boyd after the war; and a book review of Women of the South in War Time.

Corpening Family Papers, 1780-1922. Burke and Caldwell Cos., N.C.

Letters from Ann Corpening Ramsaur who lived in Cherokee Co., N.C. during the war describes raids by deserters and Union men and subsequent plans for the family to move away from the area.

Cronley Family Papers, 1806-1944. Wilmington, N.C.

Fragments of diaries kept by Jane Cronley and her mother, who are vocal abolitionists, during the war, along with two memoirs of family experiences during the Civil War.

Ann Pamela Cunningham Papers, 1857-1874. Laurens, S.C.

Letters relating to the collection of money for the Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the Union.

Lois Wright Richardson Davis Papers, 1851-1881. Lowell, Mass.

Correspondence between women of large family from Lowell, Mass., reflect dynamics of family divided by the Civil War. Letters home from daughters Eunice and Ellen, who moved to Mobile, Ala. in the 1850s and whose husbands joined the Confederate militia, record the reactions of newly transplanted Northerners to the South before and during the outbreak of the Civil War. Later letters from Eunice, whose second husband is a black sea captain, describe their life in the Grand Caymen Islands.

Francis Warrington Dawson Papers, 1559-1963. Charleston, S.C.

Papers of a literary family from Charleston, S.C. include the diaries, 1862-1866, and scrapbooks, 1853-1882, of Sarah Morgan Dawson. (Note: Dawson's diaries were largely edited and published in 1913 as A Confederate Girl's Diary.) (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Lucy Muse Walton Fletcher Papers, 1816-1968. Broadway, Va.

Family letters, clippings, poetry and diaries, 1829-1870, which reflect Civil War hardships, care of the sick and wounded, Negro soldiers and freedmen, and economic difficulties after the war.

Eliza Fludd Papers, 1865-1868. Charleston, S.C.

Letters from Fludd to her friend, Mrs. Jolliffe, describe Fludds experiences and trials during and at the end of the war, including watching the surrender of Fort Sumter from "the lofty house of a relative," living in Camden, S.C. when Sherman's army passed through, torture and slander of various relatives, and the family's destitute state at the end of the war. Fludd sympathizes with the "respectable old families of the country" and blames her privation and that of others to the Freedman's Bureau.

Kate D. Foster Diary, 1863-1872. Adams Co., Miss.

Daughter of plantation owner, entries concern Civil War and Foster's opinion about the righteousness of the Southern cause and the effect of the war on her home and local blacks.

George Gage Papers, 1864-1903. Beaufort, S.C.

Gage's wife, Sarah Ely, kept a journal, 1864-1866, that include the minutes of the Freedmen's Home Relief Association in 1864 as well as descriptions of her experiences teaching in schools for the ex-slaves after the war.

John Mead Gould Papers, 1841-1943. Portland, Me.

Diaries, 1860-1865, of Amelia Twitchell who left Maine with her sister, Adelthia, to teach freedmen in Beaufort, S.C. around 1864. Letters from Adelthia to Gould describe their teaching experiences. Amelia eventually marries Gould in 1865. Includes 1856-1880 diary and scrapbook of Susan McDowell. (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Rose O'Neal Greenhow Papers, 1860-1864. Richmond, Va.

Civil War letters from Greenhow, an agent and spy in the Confederate Service, to Alexander Robinson Boteler and Jefferson Davis reporting the progress of her work.

Greenville Ladies' Association Minutes, 1861-1865. Greenville, S.C.

Portions of minutes of an organization to aid Confederate soldiers.

Margaret Gwyn Diary and Account book, 1854-1867. Irving College, Tenn.

Gwyn's diary, chiefly 1862-1864, describes how the Civil War disrupted life on a large farm, documents the relationships among the women in this small community, and makes numerous references to Confederate and Union troops who visited the farm.

Constant C. Hanks Papers, 1861-1865. Hunter, N.Y.

Letters of Union soldier include note of an inspection tour by Dorthea Dix in 1863 and comments on the work of the U.S. Sanitary Commission.

Hinsdale Family Papers, 1712-1973. Raleigh, N.C.

Contains the papers of Ellen Devereux Hinsdale and several other Hinsdale women which document activities in various women's clubs. Includes record books from the Ladies Hospital Aid Association of Rex Hospital in Raleigh which contains information on fundraising drives, social events, and sewing bees.

Inverson Louis Harrison Papers, 1827-1878. Milledgeville, Ga.

Legal correspondence of judges include information on war relief work by local women.

Theophilus Hunter Holmes Papers, 1861-1867. Sampson County, NC.

Military correspondence and papers of Confederate general includes petitions from women asking for protection of lives and property.

Richard E. Jacques Papers, 1863-1865. Charleston, SC.

Personal correspondence between CSA private and his fiancee includes discussion of the lack of necessities and luxuries among Confederate women.

Gertrude Jenkins Papers, 1859-1908. Winston-Salem, N.C.

Narrative of Margaret Elizabeth Clewell describes journey of young women from the Salem Female Academy to Fauquier Co, Va., to nurse the sick of the 21st North Carolina Infantry, the hospital and care of the sick at Thoroughfair Gap and Manassas.

Henry Kagey Papers, 1769-1883. Shenandoah Co., Va.

Includes minutes, 1864, of the Association for the Relief of Maimed Soldiers in New Market.

Ladies Volunteer Aid Society of the Pine Hills Minutes, 1861. Chapel Hill, La.

Minutes recording the organization and meetings to support companies of soldiers from the area. (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

James Longstreet Papers, 1848-1904. Gainesville, Ga.

Letters relating mainly to Reconstruction include an 1888 letter providing information on Loretta Janeta Velaques who served in the Confederate Army under the disguise of LT. Harry Buford. (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Lucas-Ashley Family Papers, 1830-1909. Va. and Fla.

Includes letters of mother to daughter during Civil War which discuss family news, illnesses, news and opinions about the war, accounts of wounded Confederate soldiers in town, funeral, mail problems, and civilian hardships in Charlottesville, Va.

Clara Victoria Dargan MacLean Papers, 1849-1920. Columbia, S.C.

Personal diaries, poetry, scrapbooks, and correspondence of teacher and writer contains much information on Southern literature and the effects of the Civil War on literary efforts and remuneration.

Frank Moore Papers, 1865-1866. New York, N.Y.

Author of Women of the War (1866), an account of northern women's service during the Civil War. Collection consists chiefly of letters from and about the women featured in the book who served as nurses or in a related capacity. Jacob Mordecai Papers, 1784-1936. Warrenton, N.C. The papers of a family of prominent educators in the South includes considerable correspondence among the women in the family as well as the journals of Isabel Mordecai, 1858-1861, in Charleston, S.C.; a secretary's report, 1861, of the Sick Soldiers Relief Society, in Raleigh, N.C.; and correspondence with Sally Vaughn Norral, a former slave.

Munford-Ellis Family Papers, 1777-1942. Richmond and Lynchburg, Va.

Personal and family letters of the daughters of George Wythe Munford contain information of the details of household economy and general conditions during the Civil War. A scrapbook, 1861-1871, of Lizzie Ellis Munford contains Confederate verse and momentos. Letters of Margaret Nimmo Ellis span from 1840 to 1877 and contain accounts of war activities and social changes resulting from the Civil War.

Mary Norton Papers, 1852-1895. Highstown, N.J.

Letters to Norton from Clara Barton documenting their friendship, attempts to administer relief services to wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and Barton's post-war speaking engagements on behalf of the American Red Cross.

Presley Carter Person Papers, 1767-1915. Louisburg, N.C.

Letter before and during the Civil War from Harriet Person Perry to her husband, as well as her 1869 diary, give and excellent picture of home life on the Texas frontier. Also includes a daybook kept by Thomas Person's wife during the war.

Hugh N. Ponton Papers, 1859-1864. Nelson Co., Va.

Correspondence during Civil War reflects difficulties of a young wife left to manage farm and family.

Mrs. Charles C. Rainwater Papers, 1861-1865. St. Louis, Mo.

Reminiscences concerning friction between Union and Confederate sympathizers in Mo., and Rainwater's journey to meet her wounded husband who was a Confederate officer.

George Junkin Ramsey Papers, 1802-1918. Lynchburg, Va.

Letters, 1855-1871, from Sabra S. Tracy, a Vermont schoolteacher who married Ramsey, a Virginia minister, document their courtship, marriage, and life of a Northerner in the South during the Civil War.

William Young Ripley Papers, 1843-1933. Rutland Co., Vt.

Letters of a banker's wife to her sons stationed in the Vermont Infantry concern personal matters and document Mrs. Ripley's efforts to raise supplies for the U.S. Sanitary Commission and her activities in Centre Rutland, Vt. to support the war efforts. Contrast with letters home from Ripley's daughter while she was living in London, 1864-1873.

Daniel Ruggles Papers, 1845-1879. Fredricksburg, Va.

Includes letters from Confederate women offering supplies.

William C. Russel Papers, 1856-1865. New York, N.Y.

Russel moved his family from Massachusetts to Tennessee in 1864 to run a liberated plantation with ex-slaves. Letters from his daughter Lucy to her Aunt Ellen describe her experiences teaching blacks there.

Mary French Scott Papers, 1857-1904. Granville and Onslow Cos., N.C.

Correspondence, 1860-1865, relates to life and events during the Civil War and includes some legal and financial papers, passes, clippings, and miscellaneous items.

Whitefoord Smith Papers, 1807-1893. Charleston, S.C.

Civil War materials relating to gifts of the Spartanburg ladies to the soldiers.

M. J. Solomons Scrapbook, 1861-1863. Savannah, Ga.

Presumably kept by a woman, scrapbook is comprised of newspaper clippings documenting the first years of war and includes large selection of poems and various articles about women's role in the Confederacy, such as General Butler's controversial proclamation on (against) women in New Orleans and Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow.

Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth Papers, 1849-1901. Georgetown, D.C.

Literary correspondence with Robert Bonner, editor of the New York Ledger, concerning the publication of E.D.E.N. Southworth's stories discusses Southworth's hatred of Confederates. (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Laura W. Stebbins Papers, 1852-1884. Springfield, Mass.

Personal correspondence of Stebbins who taught in Mississippi before and after the Civil War, and who also operated her own school in Springfield. Contains information on subjects taught, remuneration of teachers, merits of Northern and Southern teachers in Southern schools.

Nellie F. Stearns Papers, 1865. New Bern, N.C.

Letter from a Northern teacher in a Negro school describing the African Church in which she is teaching and the close observation of their activities by Southerners.

Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas Diaries, 1848-1889. Augusta, Ga.

Lengthy and reflective diaries of Georgia plantation mistress detail relations between white men and Negro women, Civil War military activity, Union occupation of the South, the state of the Southern society after the war, labor and servant problems, financial losses and poverty. (Note: The diaries have been published as The Secret Eye, however, they have been edited and many entries in the manuscripts are not included in the published version.) (MICROFILM AVAILABLE)

Sarah E. Thompson Papers, 1855-1904. Greene Co., Tenn.

Correspondence contains testimonials of Thompson's services to the Federal government documenting her duty in hospitals where she nursed wounded soldiers, her spying activities during the Civil War, and her lectures after the war.

Tillinghast Family Papers, 1765-1971. Fayetteville, N.C.

Various Civil War experiences of the Tillinghast women. Journal, 1861, of Emily Tillinghast describes home life during the early months of the Confederacy. Long letter (56 pp.) of Sarah Ann Tillinghast describes making clothes for the local infantry and activities of the Union soldiers. An account by Robina Tillinghast gives her reaction to Sherman's march through Fayetteville.

George W. West Papers, 1785-1910. Polk Co., Ga.

Letters of Josephine West and her friends concern social life just before the Civil War and the difficulties of managing slaves during the Civil War.

Alice Williamson Diary, 1864. Gallatin, Tenn.

Diary of an opinionated 16 year old rebel farm girl near Gallatin, Tenn., describes the Yankee occupation of surrounding areas, projects to educate former slaves, her own school life and social visits.

Elvira Withrow Papers, 1864. Banks Co., Ga.

Letters concerning the evacuation of women from Cass Station, Ga., to Atlanta, to Athens, and finally Banks Co.

Isabella Anna Roberts Woodruff Papers, 1768-1865. Charleston, S.C.

Correspondence between Woodruff and several other single self-supporting middle class women documenting the variety of teaching positions held by the women at schools and academies and with private families as well as the struggles of teaching during the Civil War. Also included are Civil War courtship letters which begin in 1865 and detail Sherman's march through S.C.

William B. Yonce Papers, 1827-1893. Wytheville, Va.

Letters written by the Yonce sisters show the reactions of Southern women to the war, particularly Sophia, who writes from Gladsboro, N.C., about how her whole life is affected by this 'wicked war' and how hard it is to keep up the farm without her husband.

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