The Civil War: the third year told by those who lived it

Edmund DeWitt Patterson: journal, January 20, 1863 / Picket duty and snowballs: Virginia, January, 1863

Theodore A. Dodge: journal, January 21-24, 1863 / The mud march: Virginia, January, 1863

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams, Jr., January 23, 1863 / Emancipation and public opinion: London, January, 1863

George G. Meade to Margaret Meade, January 23, 26, and 28, 1863 / A change in command: Virginia, January, 1863

Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Hooker, January 26, 1863 / Advising a new commander: Washington, D.C., February, 1863

John A. Andrew to Francis Shaw, January 30, 1863 / Raising a black regiment: Massachusetts, January, 1863

William Parker Cutler: diary, February 2 and 9, 1863 / Debating black soldiers: Washington, D.C., February, 1863

George Templeton Strong: diary, February 3-5, 1863 / "These be dark blue days" : New York, February, 1863

Oliver W. Norton to Edwin Norton, February 6, 1863 / "The soldier's pest" : Virginia, February, 1863

Robert E. Lee to Mary Lee, February 8, 1863 / Short rations: Virginia, February, 1863

Robert Gould Shaw to Annie Haggerty, February 8, 1863 / Accepting a colonelcy: Virginia, February, 1863

Richard Cobden to Charles Sumner, February 13, 1863 / Emancipation and intervention: London, February, 1863

Isaac Funk: speech in the Illinois State Senate, February 14, 1863 / "These traitors right here" : Springfield, February, 1863

Taylor Peirce to Catharine Peirce, February 16, 1863 / "His wife crying over him": Missouri, February, 1863

William T. Sherman to Thomas Ewing, Sr., February 17, 1863, and to John Sherman, February 18, 1863 / The menace of the press: Louisiana, February, 1863

Clement L. Vallandigham: speech in Congress, February 23, 1863 / Opposing conscription: Washington, D.C., February, 1863

Samuel W. Fiske to the Springfield Republican, February 25, 1863 / Vile and traitorous resolutions: Virginia, February, 1863

Charles C. Jones, Jr. to Charles C. Jones, Sr., and Mary Jones, March 3, 1863 / Defending Fort McAllister: Georgia, March, 1863

Charles C. Jones, Sr., to Charles C. Jones, Jr., March 4, 1863 / Fight more manfully than ever: Georgia, March, 1863

Harriet Jacobs to Lydia Maria Child, March 18, 1863 / Black refugees: Virginia, March, 1863

William Henry Harrison Clayton to Nide and Rachel Pugh, March 26, 1863 / Unionist refugees: Missouri, March, 1863

Henry W. Halleck to Ulysses S. Grant, March 31, 1863 / Withdrawing slaves from the enemy: Washington, D.C., March, 1863

Frederick Law Olmsted to John Olmsted, April 1, 1863 / The Army before Vicksburg: Louisiana, March, 1863

Frederick Douglass: why should a colored man enlist?, April, 1863 / A war for emancipation: April, 1863

Jefferson Davis to William M. Brooks, April 2, 1863 / Defending General Pemberton: Virginia, April, 1863

John B. Jones: diary, April 2-4, 1863 / The Richmond bread riot: Virginia, April, 1863

Whitelaw Reid to the Cincinnati Gazette, April 4, 1863 / The necessity of fighting: April, 1863

Charles S. Wainwright: Diary, April 5-12, 1863 / Lincoln Reviews the Army: Virginia, April 1863

Francis Lieber: No Party Now, But All for Our Country, April 11, 1863 / Loyalty to the Nation: New York, April 1863

Catharine Peirce to Taylor Peirce, April 12, 1863 / Home and family news: Iowa, April, 1863

James A. Connolly to Mary Dunn Connolly, April 20, 1863 / Fighting goes like fortunes: Tennessee, April, 1863

Ulysses S. Grant to Jesse Root Grant, April 21, 1863 / "I am doing my best": Louisiana, April, 1863

David Hunter to Jefferson Davis, April 23, 1863 / Threatening retaliation: South Carolina, April, 1863

Kate Stone: journal, April 25, 1863 / "A night and day of terror": Louisiana, March-April, 1863

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, April 26, 1863 / Waiting to march: Virginia, April, 1863

John Hampden Chamberlayne to Martha Burwell Chamberlayne, April 30, 1863 / "Rain, mud & night": Virginia, April, 1863

Sarah Morgan: diary, April 30, 1863 / Expelling "enemies": Louisiana, April, 1863

Samuel Pickens: diary, May 1-3, 1863 / Battle of Chancellorsville: Virginia, May, 1863

Jedediah Hotchkiss: journal, May 2-6, 1863

"Disorder reigned supremen": Virginia, May, 1863

Taylor peirce to Catharine Peirce, May 4, 1863 / Battle of Port Gibson: Mississippi, May, 1863

Catherine Edmondston: diary, May 5-7, 9 and 11-12, 1863 / "The nation's idol": North Carolina, May, 1863

Charles F. Morse to his family, May 7, 1863 / The great Joe Hooker: Virginia, May, 1863

Samuel W. Fiske to the Springfield Republican, May 9 and 11, 1863 / Disgraceful and disastrous defeat: Virginia, May, 1863

Charles B. Wilder: testimony before the American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission, May 9, 1863 / Escaping slavery: Virginia, May, 1863

Thomas Wentworth Higginson: journal, May 10, 1863 / Commanding a black regiment: South Carolina, May, 1863

Edward O. Guerrant: diary, May 15, 1863 / Mourning Stonewall Jackson: Kentucky, May, 1863

George Richard Browder: diary, May 17-26, 1863 / Swearing allegiance: Kentucky, May, 1863

Harper's Weekly: the arrest of Vallandigham, May 30, 1863 / The people can be trusted: New York, May, 1863

Oliver W. Norton to Elizabeth Norton Poss, June 8, 1863 / Meeting "Secesh" civilians: Virginia, June, 1863

Robert Gould Shaw to Annie Haggerty Shaw, June 9-13, 1863 / The burning of Darien: Georgia, June, 1863

William Winters to Harriete Winters, June 9, 1863 / Siege of Vicksburg: Mississippi, June, 1863

Matthew M. Miller to his aunt, June 10, 1863 / Battle of Miliken's Bend: Louisiana, June, 1863

Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, June 10, 1863 / Dividing and weakening the North: Virginia, June, 1863

William T. Sherman to John T. Swayne, June 11, 1863

The hand of destruction: Mississippi, June, 1863

Henry C. Whelan to Mary Whelan, June 11, 1863 / Battle of Brandy Station: Virginia, June, 1863

Abraham Lincoln to Erastus Corning and others, June 12, 1863 / The constitution in wartime: Washington, D.C., June, 1863

William Henry Harrison Clayton to Amos and Grace Clayton, June 18, 1863, and to George Washington Clayton and John Quincy Adams Clayton, June 28, 1863 / The Vicksburg Siege continues: Mississippi, June, 1863

Charles B. Haydon: Journal, June 20, 1863 / A soldier never knows: Mississippi, June, 1863

William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, June 27, 1863 / They have sowed the wind: Mississippi, June, 1863

Edmund DeWitt Patterson: Journal, June 24-30, 1863 / Invading the North: Maryland and Pennsylvania, June, 1863

Edmund DeWitt Patterson: Journal, June 24-30, 1863 / A very different race: Pennsylvania, June, 1863

Alpheus S. Williams to Irene and Mary Williams, June 29, 1863 / Changing commanders: Maryland, June, 1863

Samuel W. Fiske to the Springfield Republican, June 30, 1863 / The business of war: Maryland, June, 1863.

Arthur James Lyon Fremantle: Diary, July 1-4, 1863 / Battle of Gettysburg: Pennsylvania, July, 1863

Samuel Pickens: diary, July 1-3, 1863 / What terrible work: Pennsylvania, July, 1863

Francis Adams Donaldson: Narrative of Gettysburg, July 2-3, 1863 / This trial of the nerves: Pennsylvania, July, 1863

Elizabeth Blair Lee to Samuel Phillips Lee, July 3 and 4-5, 1863 / News of Gettysburg: Washington, D.C., July, 1863

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain to George B. Herendeen, July 6, 1863 / Defending Little Round Top: Pennsylvania, July, 1863

Henry Livermore Abbott to Josiah Gardner Abbott, July 6, 1863 / Defeating Pickett's charge: Pennsylvania, July, 1863

Lafayette McLaws to Emily McLaws, July 7, 1863 / A series of terrible engagements: Pennsylvania, July, 1863

Cornelia Hancock to her cousin, July 7, 1863, and to Ellen Hancock child, July 8, 1863 / A nurse at Gettysburg: Pennsylvania, July, 1863

Catharine Peirce to Taylor Peirce, July 5, 1863 / Celebrating the fourth: Iowa, July, 1863

William Henry Harrison Clayton to Amos and Grace Clayton, July 5, 1863 / Vicksburg surrenders: Mississippi, July, 1863

William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, July 5, 1863 / The event of the war: Mississippi, July, 1863

William Winters to Harriet Winters, July 6, 1863 / A forlorn and forsaken place: Mississippi, July, 1863

Benjamin B. French: journal, July 8, 1863 / The glorious result: Washington, D.C., July, 1863

Catherine Edmondston: diary, July 8-11, 1863 / War news and rumors: North Carolina, July, 1863

George Hamilton Perkins to Susan G. Perkins, July 29, 1863 / Fighting on the Mississippi: Louisiana, July, 1863

Charles B. Haydon: Journal, July 11, 1863 / I must die very soon: Mississippi, July, 1863

John Hay: diary, July 11-15, 1863 / The Prest was deeply grieved: Washington, D.C., July, 1863

Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S. Grant, July 13, 1863 / Acknowledging a victory: Washington, D.C., July, 1863

Abraham Lincoln to George G. Meade, July 14, 1863 / Your golden opportunity is gone: Washington, D.C., July, 1863

Samuel Pickens: Diary, July 14, 1863 / Crossing the Potomac: Maryland and West Virginia, July, 1863

George Templeton Strong: diary, July 13-17, 1863 / The draft riots: New York, July, 1863

Emma Holmes: diary, July 16-19, 1863 / Battle of charleston Harbor: South Carolina, July, 1863

Walter H. Taylor to Richard Taylor, July 17, 1863 / We crippled them severely: Virginia, July, 1863

James Henry Gooding to the New Bedford Mercury, July 20, 1863 / Battle of Fort Wagner: Southern Carolina, July, 1863

Lewis Douglass to Amelia Loguen, July 20, 1863 / Not a man flinched: South Carolina, July, 1863

Charlotte Forten: journal, July 20-24, 1863 / Mourning Colonel Shaw: South Carolina, July, 1863

Maria Lydig Daly: diary, July 23, 1863 / Four days of great anxiety: New York, July, 1863

Herman Melville: The House-top / The Atheist roar of riot: New York, July, 1863

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams, Jr., July 23, 1863 / News of victory: London, July, 1863

George G. Meade to Henry W. Halleck, July 31, 1863 / Justifying a decision: Virginia, July, 1863

Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, July 31, 1863 / I am alone to blame: Virginia, July, 1863

Hannah Johnson to Abraham Lincoln, July 31, 1863 / What is right: New York, July, 1863

Frederick Douglass to George L. Stearns, August 1, 1863 / Refusing to recruit: New York, August, 1863

Frederick Douglass: The Commander-in-Chief and His Black Soldiers, August 1863 / Demanding retaliation: New York, August, 1863

Walt Whitman to Lewis Kirk Brown, August 1, 11, and 15, 1863 / Visiting the wounded: Washington, D.C., August, 1863

George E. Stephens to the Weekly Anglo-African, August 7, 1863 / Demanding equal pay: South Carolina, August 1863

Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, August 8, 1863 / An offer to resign: Virginia, August 1863

Jefferson Davis to Robert E. Lee, August 11, 1863 / Refusing a resignation: Virginia, August, 1863

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, August 10, 1863 / Pilaging wood: Virginia, August, 1863

Frederick Douglass to George L. Stearns, August 12, 1863 / Meeting the President: Washington, D.C., August, 1863

William H. Neblett to Elizabeth Scott Neblett, August 18, 1863 / Demoralization at Galveston: Texas, August, 1863

Richard Cordley: Narrative of the Lawrence Massacre / Such a scene of horror: Kansas, August, 1863

Ulysses S. Grant to Abraham Lincoln, August 23, 1863 / The impact of black troops: Illinois, August 1863

Jonathan Worth to Jesse G. Henshaw, August 24, 1863 / Peace meetings: North Carolina, August, 1863

John M. Schofield to Thomas Ewing Jr., August 25, 1863 / The most radical remedy: Missouri, August, 1863

Abraham Lincoln to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863 / Emancipation and black soldiers: Washington, D.C., August 1863

Ulysses S. Grant to Elihu B. Washburne, August 30, 1863 / Slavery is already dead: Mississippi, August, 1863

Charles Francis Adams to Lord Russell, September 5, 1863 / The Laird Rams: London, September 1863

Charles C. Jones Jr. to Mary Jones, September 6 and 9, 1863 / The Siege of Charleston: South Carolina, September 1863

Raphael Semmes: journal, September 16-24, 1863 / The Raider Alabama: Cape Colony, September 1863

William T. Sherman to Henry W. Halleck, September 17, 1863 / Reconstruction: Mississippi, September, 1863

William W. Heartsill: Journal, September 17-28, 1863 / Battle of Chickamauga: Georgia, September 1863

John S. Jackman: Diary, September 18-21, 1863 / Lying so thick over the field: Georgia, September 1863

Kate Cumming: Journal, September 28-October 1, 1863 / The nameless dead: Georgia, September-October, 1863

Jefferson Davis: Speech at Missionary Ridge, October 10, 1863 / Tennessee, October, 1863

Oliver W. Norton to Elizabeth Norton Poss, October 15, 1863 / Becoming an officer: Washington, D.C., October, 1863

Jefferson Davis: Speech at Wilmington, November 5, 1863 / North Carolina, November, 1863

Walter H. Taylor to Bettie Saunders, November 15, 1863 / We have no fears: Virginia, November, 1863

Cornelia Hancock to an Unknown Correspondent, November 15, 1863 / Contraband hospital: Washington, D.C., November, 1863

John Hay: Diary, November 18-19, 1863 / A Trip to Gettysburg: Pennsylvania, November 1863

Abraham Lincoln: Address at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863 / Pennsylvania, November, 1863

Petition from the Colored Citizens of Beaufort, November 20, 1863 / Protesting impressment: North Carolina, November, 1863

William Wrenshall Smith: Journal, November 13-25, 1863 / Battle of Chattanooga: Tennessee, November, 1863

Montgomery C. Meigs: Journal, November 23-25, 1863 / Wild with excitement: Tennessee, November, 1863

James A. Connolly to Mary Dunn Connolly, November 26 and December 7, 1863 / The grandest sight I ever saw: Tennessee and Georgia, November, 1863

Theodore Lyman: Journal, November 26-December 2, 1863 / The Mine Run Campaign: Virginia, November-December, 1863.

Wilbur Fisk to the Green Mountain Freeman, November 29 and December 8, 1863 / A soldier at Mine Run: Virginia, November-December, 1863

George G. Meade to Margaret Meade, December 2 and 7, 1863 / My conscience is clear: Virginia, December, 1863

Frederick Douglass: Our Work Is Not Done, December 4, 1863 / Every free man a voter: Pennsylvania, December, 1863

Frederick Douglass: Our work Is not done, December 4, 1863 / Every free man a voter: Pennsylvania, December, 1863

Abraham Lincoln: annual message to Congress, December 8, 1863 / Washington, D.C., December, 1863

Abraham Lincoln: Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, December 8, 1863 / Washington, D.C., December, 1863

George Templeton Strong: Diary, December 11-13, 1863 / Subduing the South: New York, December, 1863

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, December 11, 1863 / One misfortune follows another: North Carolina, December, 1863

Mary Chesnut: Diary, January 1, 1864 / God help my country: Virginia, January, 1864

Judith W. McGuire: Diary, January 1, 1864 / And yet we must go on: Virginia, January, 1864

Patrick R. Cleburne: Memorandum on Emancipation and Enlisting Black Soldiers, January 2, 1864 / Sacrificing slavery: Georgia, January, 1864

William T. Sherman to Roswell M. Sawyer, January 31, 1864 / They have appealed to war: Mississippi, January, 1864

Lois Bryan Adams to the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, February 8 and 23, 1864 / Meeting 'Father Abraham': Washington, D.C., February, 1864

Francis J. Higginson to John A. Dahlgren, February 18, 1864 / Sinking of the Housatonic: South Carolina, February, 1864

James H. Tomb: Notes on the H.L. Hunley, January 1865 / A submarine torpedo boat: South Carolina, October 1863-February 1864

Judith W. McGuire: Diary, February 28, 1864 / A soldier's widow: Virginia, February, 1864

John Paris: Sermon preached at Kinston, February 28, 1864 / Hanging deserters: North Carolina, February, 1864

Oliver W. Norton to Elizabeth Norton Poss, February 29, 1864 / Battle of Olustee: Florida, February, 1864

John B. Jones: Diary, March 1-2 and 5, 1864 / The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid: Virginia, March, 1864

Ulysses S. Grant to William T. Sherman, March 4, 1864 / Summoned to Washington: Tennessee, March, 1864

William T. Sherman to Ulysses S. Grant, March 10, 1864 / Come out West: Tennessee, March, 1864.