The United States Civil War Collection contains manuscript and printed materials dating from the Civil War era, as well as later items about the war.  These materials include correspondence, speeches, pamphlets, and newspapers. The bulk of the material dates from 1861 to 1865, and both Northern and Southern perspectives are represented. Highlights of the collection include an 1823 bill of sale for a slave and an 1864 diary.  Also included is information pertaining to several persons of interest such as Henry Clay, Victor Hugo, Benson Lossing, James Monroe, and Henry Jackson Van Dyke. The collection is divided into ten series: Manuscripts, Printed Correspondence, Speeches and Sermons, Speeches from the House of Representatives, Speeches from the US Senate, General Publications, Legal Materials, Medical, Plates and Portraits, and Ephemera. Each series is arranged alphabetically.

3.75 linear ft

Some of these materials are in the public domain. However, the nature of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. Permissions is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

This collection is open for research.