LibGuides: Teaching Civil War Washington: Civil War Washington in the Collections

The Civil War is well-represented in the general collections of the DC History Center, including the manuscripts, broadsides, maps, and printed materials holdings. Explore the links below for selected items from each type of material.

Civil War Manuscript Collections

Civil War Broadsides

B 0025 - $10,000 reward!
Notice issued on April 15, 1865 by the Headquarters Department of Washington offering a reward for the arrest of the assassins of Abraham Lincoln and William H. Seward.
B 0050 - Bounty to District of Columbia volunteers.
Proclamation by Sometime Inspector of the District of Columbia Charles P. Stone et al regarding the payment of a bounty to members of the District of Columbia Volunteers. The broadside also details actions taken to expand enlistment in response to a suspected conspiracy by Confederate sympathizers in the District, and addresses questions regarding the right to compensation of later enlistees.
B 0067 - Notice. List of persons enrolled in the 11th Sub-District of the District of Columbia, 1863
Notice. List of persons enrolled in the 11th Sub-District of the District of Columbia, 1863, contains names of persons exempt for military service due to "alienage, non-residence, unsuitableness of age, or manifest physical disability" and residing in the County of Washington eleventh sub-district, between Rock Creek and Eastern Branch.
B 0068 - List of the Eleventh Sub-District, 1863
List of the Eleventh Sub-District, 1863, is an alphabetical list of names of people and their residences in Washington County, District of Columbia, in the Northwest and Northeast portion of the city. The residences are identified by names of hospitals, farms, camps, forts, corrals, toll gates, greens, burial grounds, homes, bridges, hotels, mills, depots, and other terms that describe Washington County during the Civil War.

Civil War Maps

M 0031 - Map of n. eastern Virginia and vicinity of Washington
Shows forts and batteries in the District of Columbia and immediate vicinity. Relief shown by hachures. Depths shown by soundings.
M 0045 - Stranger's guide to Washington, D.C. : the city as Mr. Lincoln knew it.
Area bounded by K Street on the north, Swampoodle on the east, B Street on the south, and Rock Creek on the west. North is at the right. Annotated and illustrated with sketches. Buildings extant during the Civil War that were still standing in 1965 shown in black.
M 0068 - Defenses of Washington
Detailed map of Washington, D.C. and environs showing the location of forts and batteries.
M 0290 - Topographical map of the original District of Columbia and environs showing the fortifications around the City of Washington
Shows locations of forts and batteries in Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, MD, and Arlington and Fairfax Counties, VA. Also shows school districts and householders' names in rural areas. Relief shown by hachures. Includes text and population tables.
M 0304 - Fort Gaines
Engineer's drawings showing plan of the fort with 8 cross sections. Fort was located near present day Ward Circle.
M 0488 - Map showing the location of wartime hospitals.
Shows approximate locations of 56 Civil War hospitals in Washington, D.C. Removed from: Benjamin, Marcus, 1857-1932, ed. _Washington during war time; a series of papers showing the military, political, and social phases during 1861 to 1865. Official souvenir of the Thirty-sixth annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic.
M 0508 - Topographical map of the original District of Columbia and environs showing the fortifications around the City of Washington
Shows locations of forts and batteries in Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, MD, and Arlington and Fairfax Counties, VA. Also shows school districts and householders' names in rural areas. Relief shown by hachures. Includes text and population tables. Facsimile of 1862 map. Marks on this map indicate that the original map was wrinkled.