United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

The Brinton family papers document several generations of the Brinton, Steinmetz, and Ward families, who flourished between 1760-1930 in Pennsylvania and New York. Several members of the family played prominent roles in their communities and included landholders, real estate developers, merchants, Civil War surgeons, medical doctors and professors, missionaries, a minister, an art critic, an anthropologist, lawyers, a judge, an engineer, and several authors.

A certificate of exemption for a drafted person on account of disability dated September 16, 1863, certifying that by reason of physical disability, Emile J. Bucher, of Wilmington's 3rd Ward in New Castle County, is unfit for military duty. The second document is an oversized United States of America passport for Emile E. Bucher (1868-1914), Bucher's son, describing his physical characteristics, signed by U.S. Senator Thomas F. Bayard (D-Del., 1869-1885), and issued on September 6, 1888.

The 93 letters in this collection span the dates July 3, 1943, to March 23, 1946, and reflect George Dorsey's experiences and observations while stationed in India during World War II. All of the letters are addressed to Mary Emily Dorsey, George's only sister, who resided in Wilmington, Delaware.

This collection of correspondence consists of thirty-nine letters written primarily between 1860 and 1863. The majority of the letters were written by Union Army soldier Edward A. Fulton to his mother, Mary Fulton, of Wilmington, Delaware.

Letters from Delaware resident David N. Lilley to his sister Annie, written during his period of service in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Documents in the University of Delaware’s Lincoln Collection that contain Abraham Lincoln’s original signature or other autograph writing, including rare signed copy of “A Resolution,” submitting the Thirteenth Amendment to the States. Part of a much larger collection of Lincolniana that came to the University from the Lincoln Club of Delaware in 1972.

This autograph essay by George P. Chase, a Union sympathizer, was written during the U.S. Civil War (1864) and criticizes the Confederacy on what he calls "the madness of rebellion."

The Robert B. McKee papers consist of correspondence, military orders, medical supply inventories, casualty reports, and other material related to service as a surgeon in the 1st Delaware Calvary regiment during the Civil War.

The Pierce family papers comprise materials relating to the Pierce family of New Castle, Delaware, from the early nineteenth century to the middle twentieth century. Most of the forty-eight items date from the American Civil War and provide a personal description of military life.

Letters written by Union soldier Thomas M. Reynolds to his fiancee Louisa J. Seward, commenting on his relationship with Seward and his opinions about the Civil War.

Confederate Lieutenant James C. Saltus's handwritten manuscript describing his Civil War experience from April-June 1864. The manuscript was written while Saltus was a prisoner of war at Division 22 Officers Barracks, Fort Delaware, on October 14, 1864. Also included is a letter from Saltus to his niece on her letter writing and family matters, sent while he was at Fort Delaware.

This diary was kept by a member of the 56th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, possibly named James E. Smith, from January 1 to May 5, 1864, during the U.S. Civil War.

The Richard H. Stewart collection of Abraham Lincoln material comprises artifacts, prints, postcards, stamps, coins, clippings, publications, notes and research, and an 1861 appointment signed by Lincoln. The collection documents the nation’s mourning of Lincoln through contemporary and commemorative ephemera, artifacts, and prints and reflects the collecting and research pursuits of native Delawarean, University of Delaware alumnus, and DuPont executive Richard H. Stewart (1936-2013).

Peter Strickland (1837-1922) was a shipmaster, merchant, and U.S. consul in the French colony of Senegal. The diaries and letter books of Peter Strickland date 1857 to 1912. While varying in content, the diaries center around Strickland’s life as a merchant, both on the sea as well as in Senegal. Issues of two French colonial weekly newspapers contextualize the events of the French colony during Strickland’s time there.

Henry Clay Trumbull (1830-1903) was a noted author, editor, and Sunday-school missionary. The collection contains 120 letters written by various members of Henry Clay Trumbull's family. The majority of the letters are between Trumbull and his parents and siblings.

U.S. Army discharge document for William G. Robelen, after three years of service in the G Company, 6th Regiment of the U.S. Cavalry, at age 18, on August 4, 1864.

Two handwritten letters from Lieutenant Sydney I. Wailes, who served at Fort Delaware during the Civil War, to his friends, describing the day to day activities at the Fort. Typed transcripts of the letters are available in the collection file.

The papers of the Wilson family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Newark, Delaware, consist of 1.35 linear feet of material relating to four generations of direct descendents of Edward Wilson, Esq., of Elm’s Farm, near Liverpool, England.