An extraordinary collection of over 3,000 significant letters, signatures, diaries, journals, photographs and memorabilia from the Civil War era, the Pearce Civil War Collection is remarkable for its balanced coverage, depth, and content. Coverage A major strength of the Pearce Collection is its balanced coverage of the war.
Every effort is made to include letters and documents from both sides of the conflict.
The collection includes letters from most of the major political and military leaders from both sides of the conflict, and an ever-increasing number of soldier's letters from both the Union and Confederate armies. Depth Letters by Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, John Wilkes Booth, Frederick Douglass, Julia Ward Howe, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Jefferson Davis, and many other major figures of the era. Equal attention has been given to the personal diaries and letters of common soldiers. The Pearce Collection is noted for its dramatic battle content, descriptions of the gruesome realities of combat, and the expressions of the desperate loneliness of soldiers in their letters to beloved parents, siblings and sweethearts. Site last updated August 2001.