About The American Civil War Online

1. About the Database

The American Civil War Online is a diverse collection of searchable databases designed to promote the creative study of all aspects of the Civil War. Equally useful for teaching and research, the resource offers a range of contemporary perspectives on the war and American society. In addition to letters, diaries, rare newspapers, photographs, cartoons, and magazine articles, The American Civil War Online includes a wealth of compiled data on soldiers, regiments, and battles. Combined with the extensive personal and journalistic accounts, this statistical information completes the picture of America during a time of unparalleled national crisis. As part of Alexander Street’s commitment to create the definitive resource for Civil War studies, we will be adding functionality in 2008 that allows users to cross-search all the databases included in The American Civil War Online.

The American Civil War Online is a diverse collection of searchable databases designed to promote the creative study of all aspects of the Civil War. Equally useful for teaching and research, the resource offers a range of contemporary perspectives on the war and American society. In addition to letters, diaries, photographs, posters, and cartoons The American Civil War Online includes a wealth of compiled data on soldiers, regiments, and battles. Combined with the extensive personal accounts this statistical information completes the picture of America during a time of unparalleled national crisis. Currently, The American Civil War Online contains 100,000 pages, 16,000 photographs, and thousands of illustrations and military statistics from three collections:, Images of the American Civil War, The American Civil War: Letters and Diaries, and The American Civil War Research Database. For example,a stereograph of Battle of Malvern Hill in 1862, is brought vividly to life in the letters of Private Alfred Davenport, who assures his mother of his safety after participating in Malvern Hill while describing the artillery’s percussion as “one long incessant roll” of thunder, doing little to ease her fears. Combined with the day-to-day breakdown of regimental casualty statistics for Malvern Hill, the primary accounts found in the various databases that comprise The American Civil War Online provide users with a one-stop trove of Civil War research gems. Alexander Street is in the process of adding new databases to the platform. Collections under development include Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera and Manuscript Civil War Letters and Diaries. In 2010 we also plan to release an index to the top Civil War sites on the Internet. In order to provide access to rare materials previously beyond the reach of most researchers, Alexander Street is developing each new collection in partnership with major historical archives around the country. We are also working with Civil War experts to ensure that each database included in The American Civil War Online meets our high standards for usefulness and functionality. Finally, to increase the utility of The American Civil War Online as a teaching tool, Alexander Street plans to commission original scholarly essays focusing on key subject areas relevant to the Civil War.

Alexander Street is in the process of adding new databases to the platform. Collections under development include Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera and Manuscript Civil War Letters and Diaries. In 2008 we also plan to release an index to the top Civil War sites on the Internet. In order to provide access to rare materials previously beyond the reach of most researchers, Alexander Street is developing each new collection in partnership with major historical archives around the country. We are also working with Civil War experts to ensure that each database included in The American Civil War Online meets our high standards for usefulness and functionality. Finally, to increase the utility of The American Civil War Online as a teaching tool, Alexander Street plans to commission original scholarly essays focusing on key subject areas relevant to the Civil War.

2. Subscription and Free Trial Information

Academic libraries can purchase or subscribe to all the databases included in The American Civil War Online for a fraction of the price you would pay when acquiring each of the collections separately. For pricing and other information, please contact us at sales@alexanderstreet.com.

3. How to Contribute Materials or Comments

We welcome contributions from organizations and individuals, especially if you have materials that are unpublished or of unique interest. Submitting materials to our editors is easy and without obligation on your part.

• To submit materials for inclusion in the collection, please contact the Editor at editor@astreetpress.com.
• If you are a commercial publisher who would like to discuss licensing materials for inclusion in the database, please contact the Editor at editor@astreetpress.com.
• To report content errors or to suggest improvements, please email us at editor@astreetpress.com. Please include the author, the document, and the page number. Please also include your email address, so that we can let you know the status of your correction.

4. Copyright

All materials in the database are protected under U.S. and International Copyright Law. Fair use under the law permits reproduction of single copies for personal research and private use. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of protected items requires the written permission of the copyright owners.

5. Cataloging Records

We will be making MARC records available for each individual collection in The American Civil War Online. Please ask your customer services representative for details.