Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, when Confederate forces began bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. What ensued was a five year long war that forever changed American history, and shaped every facet of life as we know it today, from music, to baseball, to medicine, civil rights, women's rights, international relations and military strategy. The Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) contains many major Civil War archival and print holdings. Some of our American Civil War archival holdings include the papers of Jefferson Davis, the Gettysburg letters of Robert E. Lee, the papers of Albert Sidney Johnston, a strong set of Stonewall Jackson's papers, and numerous collections of papers, photographs, memoirs and diaries from individual soldiers. Recently, LaRC has made a special effort to acquire materials documenting the experience of Union soldiers serving in the Gulf region. These letters and diaries provide eyewitness accounts of what lif...

Last month we released over a dozen new online finding aids. Here are some of the highlights: John M. Galbraith papers (Manuscripts Collection 449) - This collection contains the Civil War diary of Lt. John M. Galbraith of the Washington Artillery, family correspondence, newspaper clippings and other items. The diary describes camp life, meetings with relatives, and includes a roster of soldiers. Galbraith was wounded at the Battle of Drewry's Bluff on May 16, 1864, and died on September 19, 1864. U.S. Army Quartermaster records (Manuscripts Collection 356) - This collection contains account records of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in New Orleans during the Civil War. Accounts vary but include accounts for living expenses of officers, inventories of goods of registered enemies seized and sold, payrolls, and accounts of articles purchased (mostly ships). Abner Phelps diaries (Manuscripts Collection 1064) - This collection contains four diaries from Abner Phelps. Phelp...

In light of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, we're thankful for our wonderful interns and student workers at the Louisiana Research Collection. With their hard work this fall, we've been able to make over 25 new finding aids available online. Here's just a sample: New Orleans Street Railway Union records (Manuscripts Collection 26): Perhaps one of the largest and most exciting finding aids we've unveiled this autumn, this collection contains the records of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America Division No. 194 in New Orleans from 1902 to 1948. Much of the collection was processed by our interns Mallorie Smith and Kathryn Rumer. More information about the collection can be found here. Ambert O. Remington papers (Manuscripts Collection 89): This collection contains the Civil War letters of Ambert O. Remington, a Union soldier who spent time at Fort Pickens and was later wounded at Port Hudson (Louisiana), resulting in an amputa...