American Civil War Era Newspapers

Abstract

These newspapers come from around the United States, with one item from Cuba. The vast majority of the collection is comprised of issues of the Chicago Tribune, but papers from other cities also appear. The time period covered extends before and after the Civil War. Events of note covered in the papers include the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Biographical/Historical

Near the end of 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. Within a few months, ten more states had seceded. The American Civil War officially began April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Illinois participated on the Union side by sending hundreds of thousands of troops into battle. Many military and political leaders trace their roots to Illinois. The war lasted nearly four years, ending on April 9, 1865, when the Confederacy surrendered. A few days later, on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Not long after the war ended, veterans began forming organizations. One of the longest-lasting was the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) for Union veterans, begun in April 1866 in Decatur, Illinois. Posts were established in different places, grouped under state-level departments, in turn grouped under a national commandery-in-chief. The GAR disbanded in 1956 when the last veteran died.

In Chicago, the GAR Memorial Hall Association shared space with Chicago Public Library (CPL). In 1883, the Library Board chose the corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street as the location for its future building. At the time, the site was vacant and known as Dearborn Park, named for its proximity to the site of Fort Dearborn. Because of this, many people believed the land was reserved for the GAR. Ultimately, legal action determined the library could have the land, but it had to make room for the GAR, which wanted a memorial hall for its members. CPL gave the GAR extensive rooms and signed a fifty year lease that expired in 1947. At that time, the Library took over caring for the GAR's significant collection of art, artifacts, papers, weapons and more. With the GAR’s material as a base, the library has continued to build its Civil War collection over the years, with a focus on the Illinois experience.

Scope and Contents

These newspapers come from around the United States, with one item from Cuba. The papers were primarily printed in larger cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago, but papers from smaller cities also appear. The vast majority of the collection is comprised of issues of the Chicago Tribune. The time period covered extends before and after the Civil War. Events of note covered in the papers include the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Also noteworthy are 1863 issues of The Daily Citizen from Vicksburg, Mississippi, that were printed on wallpaper scraps because during the war, the publication ran out of newsprint paper.

Arrangement

Papers are arranged alphabetically by state, then alphabetically by city, then alphabetically by title, then chronologically.

Related Materials

• American Civil War Documents, Manuscripts, Letters and Diaries and Grand Army of the Republic Collections
• American Civil War Photographs and Images and Grand Army of the Republic Photographs and Images
• Army of the Potomac Reports
• Harpers Weekly, 1861-1865
• Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper
• Chicago Tribune Historical Archive online database
• Chicago Journal on microfilm
• Chicago Times on microfilm
• Chicago Tribune on microfilm

Collection Inventory