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Civil War era Newspaper Vender and cart at Culpeper, Virginia in 1863.

Research Arsenal Spotlight 15: David Walker Beatty of the 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry

This week we’re going to focus on a collection of 48 letters written by Private David Walker Beatty of Company K, 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry. David Walker Beatty was born 1…

CDV Photograph of Frank, Frederick, and Alice, “The Children of the Battlefield” Carte-de-visite (CDV) photograph of Frank, Frederick, and Alice, the children of Amos Humiston of the 154th New York Infantry. Humiston was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg, but his identity was at first unknown. An original ambrotype of his three children – eventually copied to produce this CDV - was found clutched in his hand. The ambrotype came into the possession of Dr. J. Francis Bournes of Philadelphia, who traveled to Gettysburg to help tend to the wounded after the battle. Bournes vowed to identify the soldier and return his image to the family. Newspapers soon printed a description of the subjects in the hopes of someone could connect them to the fallen soldier. It worked. Bourne would later work with local photographers in Philadelphia to produce copies of the Humiston ambrotype for the benefit of a home for orphaned children of the battlefield in Gettysburg.

The Humanity of the Battle of Gettysburg in Primary Sources

The Humanity of the Battle of Gettysburg in Primary Sources As a professional or amateur researcher, the best information you can find about a historical topic will come from…

Research Arsenal Spotlight 14: Alfred Homer Johnson of the 30th Georgia Infantry

This week our spotlight is on a collection of five letters related to Alfred Homer Johnson who served as a private in Company F of the 30th Georgia Infantry. Alfred Homer…

A "Wunderkammer" or Cabinet of Curiosities was the first form of a museum that became popular in 16th Century Europe. They were characterized by room crammed full of cool stuff. This is not a good model for exhibiting your collections.

3 Simple Tips for Displaying Your Collection

3 Simple Tips for Displaying Your Collection One of the highlights of owning a nice collection (or even a beginner-level collection) of Civil War memorabilia is displaying…

Research Arsenal Spotlight 13: 25th Ohio Infantry Photo Album

This week, we’re taking a look at a photo album of members of the 25th Ohio Infantry. The album contains fifteen cartes de visite (CDVs) of men in the regiment and most of t…

Here's an example of a sticky note stuck to an original page of a ledger making note of a deserter. Something that it literally says in red ink just a few inches away from the sticky note. This note is not providing any additional information from what is already plainly visible on the page, and it is actively causing damage to the original pages because it is non-archival.

Angry Archivist: Stop Writing on and Putting Sticky Notes on Historical Documents

Angry Archivist: Stop Writing on and Putting Sticky Notes Historical Documents You may remember that I wrote (ranted) about people marking up original historical documents…

Research Arsenal Spotlight 12: Rufus P. Staniels 13th New Hampshire Infantry

Rufus Putnam Staniels was born in 1833 in Chichester, New Hampshire to Charles Herbert Staniels and Elizabeth N. (Johnson) Staniels. He enlisted in Co. C of the 13th New…

5 Easy Tips for Using the Research Arsenal

To get the most out of your Research Arsenal membership, it can help to know the quickest and most effective ways to search for the information you’re looking for. To h…

I took this photo as I was working on separating the art from the backing. Notice the glue streaks, the faded black posterboard and the remnants of papyrus material stuck to the posterboard, and pieces of posterboard stuck to the papyrus.

Angry Archivist: Can I Just Glue It?

Angry Archivist: Can I Just Glue It? For this post blog post, I’m deviating a bit from the Civil War and shifting gears into archival madness that I sometimes run across on a …

Research Arsenal Spotlight 11: US Cavalry Returns

The Research Arsenal is proud to announce that we recently uploaded all of the Civil War era cavalry returns for the 1st-6th US Cavalry. These returns encompass rolls 4, 5,…

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