Introduction
This Civil War era digital archive is a collaborative project of the Penn State Libraries and the George and Ann Richards Civil War Center. Its mission is to promote research into the lived experience of Pennsylvanians between 1851 and 1874. The project website features a unique statewide bibliographic database of hidden collections, digitized manuscripts, and contextual essays.
"This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union it is a struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of government whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men…" Abraham Lincoln, July 4, 1861