Civil War Materials from Michigan Online

McClellan and Group, 1860's

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections staff started a project to transcribe and digitize material from their collections relating to the war.  The material is being posted online for free access and use by the public.  (Hooray for free!)  The Civil War materials are currently described on a dedicated page on the archives site.

In the archives are several collections of letters from Michigan families that the university has acquired over the years.  Students and volunteers have been transcribing the letters, and these are being added to the online material.  If you had any family in Michigan who served in the war, perhaps there's a letter in the collection.  An article from Michigan Radio has excerpts from some of the letters, including a "steamy" relationship (or what passed for steamy in the 1860's).

I particularly enjoyed browsing the photograph collections.  Among them were William Seward, John Fremont, Admiral David Farragut, John Wilkes Booth, and Abraham Lincoln with his son Tad.  There are several unidentified men; maybe you'll recognize someone from your family.