The Source

Civil War Era Newspapers

By Michael K. Shaffer · Originally published July 2021 · p. 10

Civil War Era Newspapers Period newspapers frequently serve as a focus for this column as more and more collections across the country, after digitization, offer access to researchers. (See the archives of this column at civilwarnews.com for details on other newspaper collections.) Recently, several newspapers covering the war period have joined the collections of https://www.genealogybank.com (a subscription site). Please find listed below, in alphabetical order by state, the newest digitized titles. The use of keyword searches and setting date parameters hone the accuracy of the search results. From Connecticut, the Litchfield Enquirer. (See below image of this newspaper.) Next, the Granite State Farmer of Manchester, New Hampshire. The Empire State contributes three titles: Albany Journal, the New York Semi-Weekly Tribune, and the Troy Daily Times. For events in the final days leading to the outbreak of war, see the Pennsylvania Inquirer and National Gazette for the Country, with issues from 4/5/1860 – 1/17/1861. Lastly, from the Palmetto State, the Charleston Tri-Weekly Courier. Enjoy the various topics hidden in the pages of these and other period newspapers! Until next month, continued good luck in researching the American Civil War! Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, and instructor, who remains a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at [email protected] or request speaking engagements via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www.facebook.com/michael.k.shaffer, and Twitter @michaelkshaffer.