Resources for Research

Beyond accessing physical or digitized versions of individual documents and images concerning Anglo-American interaction in the era of the Civil War, locating such materials in archives across the country and internet can be difficult. Below are some useful locations through which to find information, including published document compilations, specific libraries and museums, and other collections of primary sources.

• The Library of Congress – A key place for research into documents pertaining to U.S. policies regarding foreign affairs and diplomacy, including the papers of President Lincoln and prominent related individuals, including members of his State Department.
  • Documents and government records relating to the Confederate States of America are also preserved, maintained primary in a collection of microfilm reels, some of which is viewable online. Use of the LOC’s finding aids will help in locating documents specific to this subject field, as the collection is sizeable.
    • This includes the papers of diplomats such as James M. Mason and others involved Confederate foreign policy
• The U.K’s National Archives include multiple collections, and directories to further collections throughout the country, that house documents pertaining to important figures in British diplomacy during the Civil War, including Earl Russell
• Similarly, certain public libraries, such as the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library and the Library Company of Philadelphia, have been digitizing historic materials, much of which can be accessed online
  • University and college collections, including Gettysburg College
  • An effective tool for use in online searches of such libraries is the Digital Public Libraries of America and Internet Archive networks.
  • Historical Societies, depending on size and focus, provide further opportunity for locating archived newspaper articles, letters, and other documents pertaining to American and British activities
• Published journal or newspaper articles, both primary and secondary in nature can be found through sites such as JSTOR and other online databases
  • There are also similar resources based in the United Kingdom that have preserve information relevant to this area of history, including museums and newspaper archives
    • Digital availability can be an issue with certain institution websites in viewing digitized materials from outside the country, and not everything will be available online. Accessibility in some cases may only be through paid subscription.

• For published document compilations, there are several series of works especially relative to different issues within the subject
  • The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of Rebellion; Detailing not only military information, but correspondences pertaining to diplomacy, particularly concerning Confederate naval and supply acquisitions in Britain
  • Correspondence Concerning the Trent Affair; Separate published collections of documents, letters and other materials released by government publishers in the U.K. and U.S.
  • Foreign Relations of the United States; Annual volumes of government action and diplomatic instructions, usually as part of the presidential message to Congress; Beginning in 1861, the first volumes cover the years of the Civil War.
• There are also numerous collections of the memoirs and writing of different officials, diplomats and other figures of note, published in the aftermath of the war, either archived physically, digitized, or edited and republished, in the years since.
  • The Papers of William Seward, U.S. Secretary of State under Lincoln
  • The Papers and Letters of Charles Francis Adams, U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom
  • The Letters of Thurlow Weed, Union Agent in Europe, primarily in the U.K.