How do I Browse Libraries?
Records in the Research Arsenal are divided into several libraries for easy searching and browsing. Users can start by selecting a specific library or search all libraries simultaneously by selecting the “View All” button at the bottom of the screen.
Below is a brief description of the records in each library.
Photographs & Images: All of our photographs and images, comprehensively tagged with keywords to aid you in finding the exact image you’re looking for.
Letters & Diaries: Currently the largest fully searchable and transcribed collection of Civil War letters and diaries on the internet. Use our search tools and filters to find the letters more relevant to you, or simply browse the collection for vivid accounts of the war and life at home.
US Ordnance Returns: The complete ordnance returns for every Union regiment for the duration of the war. These returns contain details about what weapons each regiment carried.
Quartermaster & Ordnance Specs: Search the complete list of Quartermaster and Ordnance Specifications from the 1862 Ordnance manual and the 1865 Quartermaster manual. These records give detailed descriptions of the exact specifications for most military gear. Everything from the dimensions of a hospital tent to the size of screws needed to build an ammunition chest can be found here. Clicking on records also links you to images that contain each of these items.
General/Special Orders: A growing collection of general and special orders issued by specific regiments during the war. Highlights include the order books from the 1st Minnesota Infantry.
Morning Reports: Daily lists of those present, absent, and on extra duty in a regiment. Also often includes lists of casualties from battles and descriptions of how they were wounded.
Muster Rolls: Lists of the men enrolled in a regiment including when, where, and by whom they were enlisted into service (in development).
Clothing Ledger/Books: Lists of clothing issued to men serving in regiments, including the cost of each item and when issued.
Military Forms (Pre-Printed): Various military forms including invoices of ordnance and ordnance stores, consolidated provision returns, and monthly returns of clothing, camp and garrison equipage. These forms can give insight into the types of material and provisions regiments had with them in a given month.
Civilian Research: Searches all libraries simultaneously for civilian records.
Search NARA Microfilm: Browse our growing collection of records from the National Archives’ microfilm collection. Includes Union and Confederate documents.
Search by Source/Call #: Looking for a specific set of documents in our collection? This feature allows you to pull any of our records based on their catalog number.
View all: This allows you to view all records in all libraries at once. All of our records right at your fingertips.
