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The American Civil War

 

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Citation Station

Catalog

Where to Browse: Notable Dewey Numbers

201.723 | Religion and Civil Rights

303.4 | Social Change

305.4 Women

305.42 Role in society, status

305.43 | Women and work

305.486 | Women and religion

305.488 | Women and ethnic/national groups

305.8 | Ethnic and national groups; racism, multiculturalism

306.3 | Economic institutions

306.76 | Sexual orientation, gender identity

323 | Civil and political rights

326 | Slavery and emancipation

355 | Military science

356 | Infantry forces & warfare

357 | Mounted forces & warfare

358 | Air & other specialized forces

359 | Sea forces & warfare

380s | Commerce, Communications, Transportation

609 | Historical technology

640 | Home and family management

700 | Arts

720 | Architecture

730 | Sculpture

740 | Drawing

750 | Painting

780 | Music

790 | Sports, games, and entertainment

909 | World history

910 | Geography and travel

920 | Biography

The numbers 921 through 928, which are shelved at the end of our alphabetically organized biography collection, tend to contain joint, group, and specialized biographies

940 | History of Europe

950 | History of Asia

960 | History of Africa

970 | History of North America

973 | History of the United States

974 | Northeastern United States

975 | Southeastern United States

976 | South Central United States

977 | North Central United States

978 | Western United States

979 | Great Basin & Pacific Slope

980 | History of South America

990 | History of "other areas" (e.g. Australasia, Micronesia, Polynesia, miscellaneous islands, etc.)

Widget issues? Click here for Destiny Discover! Prefer something utilitarian? Click here for the traditional catalog!

Monograph Madness

Struggling to find a particular book? Want something that isn't in our library's collection? Don't panic! Your librarians have plenty of ways to procure the materials you require. Let us know what you're after and we'll handle the rest!

Project Links

Search Tips

Topic

Search Terms & Keywords

Database Subject Headings

Search-Enhancing Idioms

African Americans in the Civil War

Enslaved people, Underground Railroad, Black soldiers, 54th Massachusetts Regiment, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, contraband of war, free black communities, African American spies Slavery, African Americans--History--1861-1865, Military history--United States--Civil War, African Americans--Biography "Runaway slaves," "Contraband of war," "Black regiments," "African Americans in the Confederacy"

Women in the Civil War

Nurses, Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix, women's aid societies, domestic life during the war, women's clothing, women teachers, women factory workers, filthy lucre (coined by Mary Livermore to describe wartime profiteering) Women and war, Nursing--History--19th century, United States--Social life and customs--1861-1865, Clothing and dress--United States--1860-1869 "Women's sphere," "Soldier's aid societies," "Behind the lines," "Women's experiences in the Confederacy"

Native Americans in the Civil War

Cherokee Nation, Creek Nation, Seminole Nation, Navajo Code Talkers, Ely S. Parker, reservation system and the Civil War, Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), allies and enemies (tribes on both sides) Indigenous peoples--North America--History--1861-1865, Military history--United States--Civil War, Cherokee Nation--History, Creek Nation--History "Native American tribes," "Civil War code talkers," "Forced relocation"

Key Battles: Gettysburg

Gettysburg Address, Pennsylvania, Pickett's Charge, civilian experiences United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Battles--Gettysburg "Turning point of the Civil War," "Gettysburg battlefield photographs"

Key Battles: Antietam

Sharpsburg, Maryland, bloodiest day, strategic importance United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Battles--Antietam "Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation," "Cornfield at Antietam"

Key Battles: Vicksburg

Mississippi River, siege warfare, Ulysses S. Grant United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Battles--Vicksburg "Grant's Vicksburg Campaign," "Impact of Vicksburg on the Confederacy"

Key Battles: Sherman’s March to the Sea (total war)

Georgia, civilian destruction, military strategy United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns and strategies "Sherman's March and total war," "Civilian experiences during Sherman's March"

Lincoln’s Leadership

Second Inaugural Address, Gettysburg Address, wartime decisions, leadership style Presidents--United States--Civil War, 1861-1865 "Lincoln's wartime leadership," "Anti-war dissent and Lincoln"

Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863, slaves as contraband, impact on the war United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Emancipation Proclamation "Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation," "Emancipation Proclamation and African American soldiers"

Military Strategies

Grand strategy, attrition warfare, mobility vs. fortifications United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns and strategies "Union vs. Confederate military strategies," "Technological impact on Civil War strategies"

Technology in the Civil War

Railroads, telegraphs, ironclad warships, rifles vs. smoothbore muskets Military technology--United States--History--19th century, United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 "Impact of railroads on the Civil War," "Civil War weaponry"

Foreign Relations during the Civil War

Britain, France, Confederate diplomacy, potential intervention United States--Foreign relations--1861-1865, Confederate States of America--Foreign relations "Cotton diplomacy and the Civil War," "Britain'

General Search Tips: Boolean Basics

Constructing a good search is boring—well, the transitive verb form of “boring,” as in “boring a tunnel through the hillside.” Constructing a good search is also mining—extracting items of interest from a mass of material that, while potentially valuable, isn’t exactly what you need at the moment. Constructing a good search is boring and mining both bundled into a series of active operations. Faced with a heap of information, your job is to dig your way through and arrive on the other side, culling gems, jewels, ores, and fragments from the tunnel walls along the way. Boolean operatorsANDOR, and NOT—will help you as you go. (Just be sure to type them in all-caps to ensure they function properly!)

AND: Sometimes you’re looking for silver; sometimes you’re looking for gold. Sometimes you want both, and AND is here to make it happen (for example: silver AND gold). That said, silver and gold aren’t typically found in the same vein. When you busy yourself searching for El Dorado, you may ignore a city of silver just around the corner...

OR: Sometimes, you’ll have to include a fork in your tunnel, and that’s okay since OR lets you have it both ways (for example: left OR right). You don’t necessarily need to dig each route to completion—pursue one or the other, but just far enough to find (or realize that you aren’t finding) what you’re looking for. If you follow too many forks, you just might find yourself trapped in a labyrinth, so OR with caution!

NOT: Sometimes you’re only sure what you don’t want, and that’s where NOT comes in handy (for example: poetry NOT Shakespeare). That said, sometimes—perhaps more often than we’d like to admit—we’re sure we don’t want something until we do want it. Though it’s useful to know where not to dig, excluded areas very well may contain the slightest hint, the tiniest sliver, of whatever we’re clawing toward. NOT at your own peril!

General Resources: Primary Sources and Books

Slavery-Specific Resources