Selected Civil War Letters from the Southern Historical Collection

The following letters were written by Confederate and Union soldiers from the Civil War battlefront. Descriptions of General "Stonewall" Jackson's wounding, the horrors of Gettysburg, and the loss of comrades are matched by expressions of devotion to country, to God, and to loved ones left behind.

The documents in this exhibit were originally selected by John White, who also wrote the caption text. All of the manuscripts and photographic images are from the Southern Historical Collection in the Manuscripts Department of the Academic Affairs Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For exhibit only: permission to publish must be requested.

The letters describe military actions in the following locations:

Alexander Haskell, 17 April 1861, Fort Sumter, S.C.
Charles Hutson, 22 July 1861, First Battle of Manassas, Va.
William Cooley, 22 June 1862, Hilton Head, S.C.
James Munnerlyn, 9 October 1862, Frederick, Md.
Isaac Howard, 25 December 1862, Fredericksburg, Va.
Andrew Sproul, 26 January 1863, Yazoo River, Miss.
Edward Rowe, 11 May 1863, Chancellorsville, Va.
A. J. Withrow, 3 June 1863, Vicksburg, Miss.
John Caldwell, 22 June 1863 and 18 July 1863, Gettysburg, Pa.
J. T. Kern, 2 April 1864, Dalton, Ga.
Lewis Warlick, 19 May 1864, Spotsylvania, Va.
I. Shoger, 16 April 1865, Raleigh, N.C.

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The online version of this exhibit was developed by SILS students John Barden, Mary Williams, and Ryan Womack in cooperation with the Manuscripts Department. Last updated May 30, 1996. Last update November 1997.

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