We have recently contributed to the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) Civil War in the American South collaborative website. This website links to primary source materials, focusing on the American South, created between 1850 and 1865, from 24 contributing institutions. We have successfully digitized and added 121 images and text documents from three collections: The Milton Barnes Papers, 1853-1891, (related post at the National Postal Museum’s blog here), The Alexander Haight Family Collection, 1764-1967, and The Northern Virginia Civil War Images Collection, 1853-1914.
While researching these collections we noticed the finding aid for The Northern Virginia Civil War Images Collection was in dire need of an update to more accurately reflect the location and description of its contents. We have recently completed that task and have included links within the finding aid to a digital copy of the image in the Mason Archival Repository Service (MARS) , further enabling researchers to explore this visual collection online.
The Northern Virginia Civil War Images Collection consists of nearly 200 images depicting Union and Confederate armies, battles, marches, and maps of the Civil War. Images are from publications such as Harper’s Weekly, The Illustrated London News, and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and were created by artists including Frank Vizetelly, Frank Leslie, Alfred Waud, Thomas Nast, and Charles Magnus. The images are primarily wood engravings, many of which are hand colored. Most of the maps in the collection were produced by lithography for military purposes for both the Union and Confederate armies. The collection is divided and arranged alphabetically by location with exception to maps which are grouped together. Locations include Alexandria, Arlington, Centreville, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Munson’s Hill, Quantico, and Washington D.C., among others.
