Historians today recount the American Civil War in a number of different lights. Some historians are more sympathetic to the Confederate point of view regarding secession from the Union, while others clearly tell the story of the war from a Northern perspective. The best historians will base their work on fact and solid historical evidence. For the Civil War buff that does not want to rely only on historians to recount the events of the Civil War, it is a worthwhile task to become something of a historian himself or herself. This is done by taking up the collection of Civil War documents.
There are a plethora of war documents left from the Civil War, including bonds, public announcements and diaries and journals. Numerous newspaper articles also exist that tell the story of the Civil War from the perspective of journalists who were living through it (and sometimes actually fighting in the battles themselves). For anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the Civil War and expanding beyond the traditional knowledge of the war that is taught in history books, it is essential to begin collecting Civil War documents. Owning and studying these documents will allow the collector to become intimately familiar with the everyday realities of the war and will bring to life the historical stories that have been passed down through generations.
Because of the government’s sparseness in issuing metal cents back then, private ones were distributed and used as real money-issuers used nickel, tin, white metal, silver and German silver and rubber. The government in1864 made it illegal to use non-government issued coinage as monetary substitutes. Generally, the more rare a coin from back then, the more it will be worth currently.
While the majority of available letters are from infantry soldiers, there are also letters available to collectors that were written by important Army generals. For instance, one seller of Civil War collectibles has an impeccable copy of a letter written by Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The letter portrays the president in a non-political light, showing his softer side and his longing to be with his family. It also provides the collector with the president’s autograph, which is in itself a fantastic collector’s item.
Yet another type of Civil War document collectors will find appealing are newspaper articles. The articles that are available are incredible windows into Civil War era society. Newspaper articles available for collecting range from society articles to statistical reports of battles. The society articles are interesting and demonstrate the way in which American society reacted to the war and rallied around the troops, throwing benefits and parties in order to raise money.
Additionally, reports of battles are also useful to collectors, and provide insight into the way in which battles were viewed at the time. The New York Times, for example, printed a number of articles at the time that discuss battles. There is one article in particular that discusses the Battle of Gettysburg (which took place on the 4th of July, 1863) and that is prized by Civil War collectors. The article is broken down into sections: Incidents of the Battle and List of Killed and Wounded. In flowery language, the journalist describes the bravery of the soldiers and the critical turning points of the battle. The letter is a priceless Civil War collectible!
For those who wish to gain a better and more experiential understanding of the horrors and critical events and battles which took place during the Civil War, becoming a collector of Civil War memorabilia is an invaluable hobby to take up. Not only is it possible to become familiar with some of the most critical items of the war, such as weapons and bullets, one may also learn more about warships that were used during the war. There are many Civil War collectibles besides the three discussed above – these include manuscripts, buttons, and confederate bonds. As one begins a Civil War collection, all of these items will become a part of the individual collection that is created, and each individual item will in turn contribute to increasing the collector’s knowledge of the American Civil War.
