A few months ago I came across an 1862 letter from William Cooper Nell, one of the nation’s earliest Black historians, an educator, and abolitionist. In it he discusses work on a second edition of The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, originally published in 1855. It was something of a revelation since I had…

How do we document these unusual times?  We now read often of museums, historical societies, and libraries scrambling to collect materials that speak particularly of the striking events of this year.  It is, fortunately, not a new instinct, as Civil War soldiers shared in it when they collected these unique specimens drawn from a time…

The Department of Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections in the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library is home to one of the largest cased image collections in the country, consisting largely of daguerreotype, ambrotype or tintype portraits. Cased images typically include the image plate and a cover glass wrapped together in a brass mat, placed inside a…

On February 22, 1865, Private William Joseph Nelson wrote a petition for leniency from prison. The black Ohioan was being held as a deserter and explained why he had to leave the army. He said that recruiters cheated him out of his much-needed bounty, forcing him to abandon his post and see to his family….

It is the unofficial start of summer; beaches open, some of us think of auto racing, and we hope for suitable weather for a barbecue. Memorial Day is upon us, and its national observance is 150 years old this year, the holiday Americans once called Decoration Day. The veterans’ group known as the Grand Army…

This post is by Clare Manias, Enhanced Conservation Work Experience (ECWE) Assistant. Earlier this year, the New-York Historical Society Conservation Lab treated a sketchbook with drawings by lithographer George John Kerth, a volunteer soldier with the 96th Civilian Corps stationed in Virginia near the end of the Civil War. His sketchbook (N-YHS museum accession number X.433) was filled…

This post was written by Clare Manias, Enhanced Conservation Work Experience (ECWE) Assistant Near the end of the Civil War, lithographer George John Kerth was stationed with the 96th Civilian Corps, New York State Volunteers, at Dover Mines, Virginia. On June 19, 1865 he received a blank sketchbook (N-YHS museum accession no. X.433), which he…

The Story . . . While processing the records of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, New York Commandery, we came across a poignant relic of the Civil War: a note passed between the lines at the Battle of Antietam, one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the nation….

This post was written by Tammy Kiter, Manuscript Reference Librarian. As Women’s History Month draws to a close, let’s take this opportunity to celebrate the women who served as nurses, both Union and Confederate, throughout the Civil War. Statistics vary, but it is estimated that approximately 3,000 women served as nurses during this turbulent time…