Map showing the distribution of the enslaved population of the southern states, 1860
View Full Item in Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 dcuWashington Henry S. Graham 1861. Scale ca. 1:3,000,000. LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed.), 13.2 "Entered according to Act of Congress, A.D. 1861 by Henry S. Graham." "Sold for the benefit of the sick and wo…
Illustration of a contraband camp on the banks of the Mississippi River, Fort Pickering, Memphis, Tennessee, November 1862
Lovie, Henri (1829-1875)View Full Item in American Antiquarian SocietyBusy scene showing African American men seated or lying down in shadowed foreground, soldiers and tents in middle ground and a two-smokestack ship in background against the river on the horizon.
Engraving titled “Emancipation” by Thomas Nast, 1863
Thomas NastView Full Item in Washington University, St. LouisLetter from Union soldier Johannes Lefevre describing the role that escaped enslaved persons played in the war, January 24, 1863
Lefevre, Johannes, 1837-1864View Full Item in Historic Huguenot StreetLetter written from Johannes Lefevre to Sol. Dubois during the Civil War. Johannes wrote this letter while serving in the Union Army and camped outside of New Orleans. In the letter Johannes describes…
Broadside of “A Song Dedicated to the Colored Volunteer”
Craig, TomView Full ItemOther publications of this song ascribe it to Tom Craig. Five stanzas, each with chorus; first line: Fremont, he boldly told us. Lyrics only. Wolf, E. Amer. song sheets, 333c digitized 20141022 pda GE…
Relics found at the U.S. Colored Troops camp near Johnsonville, Tennessee
View Full Item in Tennessee State Library and ArchivesFound in a trash pit at the camp site of the 12th and 13th Inf. Regts., USCT along the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad line, the relics include sardine cans, a drumstick holder, a bullet mold, a sid…
Portrait of an African American soldier in a Union uniform
View Full Item in UC Berkeley, Bancroft LibraryHalf length portrait of a man seated with one arm resting on a table.
Studio portrait of Union soldier Richard Oliver, who enlisted in 1863 and died of malaria on his way home in 1865
View Full Item in Historic Huguenot StreetStudio portrait of a Richard Oliver, Civil War soldier. He is wearing a northern Civil War uniform. Richard enlisted in the 20th USCI in Kingston on December 26, 1863. He died of malaria aboard the st…
Broadside of the original version of the “John Brown Song,” 1863
View Full Item in New York State LibraryFull-page color Illustration on verso: Symbolic representation of the transition of African Americans from slavery into freedom and the recruitment of colored troops. Central figure is a uniformed sol…
Enlistment papers for Jeremiah L. W. Bradley, 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, December 1863
View Full Item in Massachusetts ArchivesItem originally held at the Massachusetts National Guard Museum & Archives, Worcester, Massachusetts. The volunteer enlistment papers of Jeremiah L. W. Bradley. Jeremiah Bradley resided in South Adams…
Photograph of Mary Allensworth Vaughn, wife of Peter Vaughn, 101st U.S. Colored Troops Regiment
View Full Item in Tennessee State Library and ArchivesPhotograph of Mary Allensworth Vaughn, wife of Peter Vaughn. Peter Vaughn was in Co. I, 101st United States Colored Troops (USCT) Regiment.
Letter to Charles Wadsworth from Elihu Wadsworth, a member of the 16th Regiment, U. S. Colored Troops, February 1864
View Full Item in Tennessee State Library and ArchivesElihu Wadsworth was a member of the Company B, 16th Regiment, U. S. Colored Troops.
Deed of manumission by John Jervis for William H. Little, May 4, 1864
Jervis, JohnView Full Item in Howard County Historical SocietyDeed of manumission dated May 4, 1864 by John Jervis of Howard County, Maryland for his Negro slave named William H. Little, also known as William H. Nelson. Witnessed by Geo. (George) Bond and Charle…
Muster roll for the 23rd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, October 1864
War Department. Provost Marshal General's Bureau. Disbursing Branch. 3/3/1863-8/28/1866View Full Item in National Archives at BostonThe muster roll for the 23rd Regiment, United States Colored Troops, provides the official register of officers and men who were accepted into service.
Excerpt of the Proceedings of the National Convention of Colored Men, 1864
National Convention of Colored Men (1864 : Syracuse, N.Y.)View Full Item in Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst LibrariesPages 33 to 62 of this Conference's proceedings, reprinting the resolutions passed and addresses given thereat.
Studio portrait of an unidentified African American woman, circa 1864
Gullmann, CView Full Item in Historic Huguenot StreetFull length portrait of an unidentified African American woman. The woman is standing with one arm resting on a platform. She is wearing a dark dress with light polka dots. The skirt of the dress is f…
Contraband camp, Richmond, Virginia, 1865
War Department. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. (8/1/1866 - 9/18/1947)View Full Item in National Archives at College Park - Still PicturesStudio portrait of an African American mother and child, 1865
View Full Item in Pink Palace Family of MuseumsThis formal studio portrait depicts a well-dressed young African American woman seated in a carved wood gothic chair with a boy about 8-10 years old standing to her left and resting his right arm on h…
U.S. Colored Troops muster roll for Mississippi soldiers, February 1865
View Full Item in Tennessee State Library and ArchivesMuster roll for Capt. Zina B. Chatfield's Co. F, 58th Inf. Regt., United States Colored Troops. These troops were recruited in the vicinity of Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss. Chatfield enlisted in Co. A…
Letter from Peter R. Laws detailing the Massachusetts Colored Infantry troops taking part in the Union occupation of South Carolina, April 1, 1865
Laws, Peter R, Garrison, Francis Jackson, 1848-1916View Full Item in Boston Public LibraryHolograph, signed. Title devised by cataloger. Manuscript includes an encapsulated, stamped envelope, measuring 15.7 x 9.4 cm, addressed from "Serg't Peter R. Laws, Col. I., 55th Mass., James Is'd, S…
Illustrated discharge document for U.S. soldier George Washington, private in the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, September 23, 1865
View Full Item in Private CollectionIllustrated document containing the discharge records of U.S. Army soldier George Washington. The document indicates that Washington served as a private in the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, C…
Central portion of a triptych painting showing an African American soldier in the Union Army
Wood, Thomas Waterman (1823-1903)View Full Item in The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThis is the central portion of a triptych showing an African American man in the same location at three stages of his military career. Here, dressed in full federal uniform, he shoulders a rifle and m…
Senate report including evidence collected by the Committee on Pensions regarding the Civil War service of Harriet Tubman Davis as a nurse, cook, and spy
U.S. House of Representatives. 3/4/1789View Full Item in Center for Legislative ArchivesThis Senate report includes evidence collected by the Committee on Pensions regarding the Civil War service of Harriet Tubman Davis as a nurse, cook, and spy. It also includes information on the widow…
Affidavit from Lewis Douglas recommending William H. Carney of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry
War Department. Record and Pension Office. 1892-5/11/1904View Full Item in National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual ReferenceThis handwritten affidavit from Lewis Douglas concerns William H. Carney of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry.