HIS307 The American Civil War Research Guide

Examples of resources in which to begin searching:

Encyclopedias / Dictionaries

These types of resources can be great sources of concise background material on a topic, biographical information about individuals, etc.

FYI--Check out the reference lists at the end of encyclopedia articles.  Some of those sources may be worth tracking down!

Credo Reference

• Sample searches:
  • esther hill hawks
  • "civil war"
    AND
    women
• Sample information sources:
  • Glymph, T. (2005). The Civil War era. In N. Hewitt (Ed.), Blackwell companions to American history: A companion to American women's history. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
  • Silber, N. (2010). Northern women during the age of emancipation. In L. Ford (Ed.), Blackwell companions to American history: A companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Other Reference Resources to Try:

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Oxford Reference Online

Britannica Online

Books & eBooks

LibSearch

• Sample searches:
  • "civil war"
    AND
    america* OR "united states"
    AND
    women OR woman
    AND
    (nurs* OR doctor* OR physician* OR medical OR hospital*)
  • esther hill hawks
• Sample information sources:
  • Culpepper, M. M. (1991). Trials and triumphs: Women of the American Civil War. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.
  • Hawks, Esther Hill (1833-1906). (2008). In G. R. Schroeder-Lein (Ed.), The encyclopedia of Civil War medicine (pp.126-127). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
• Sample official Subjects:
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Women
  • Women -- Northeastern States -- History -- 19th century
  • Hawks, Esther Hill, 1833-1906
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care
  •  

Project Muse

• Sample search:
  ​"civil war"
  AND
  women
  AND
  doctors OR physicians
• Limit by:
  • Content type:  Books
  • Language:  English
  • Research Area:  History > U.S. History > Civil War Era
• Sample information source:
  • Bellafaire, J., & Graff, M. H. (2009). Women doctors in war. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press.
    (Chapter 1: Hen Medics: Women Physicians in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War)

To find books to request through Interlibrary Loan, Worldcat

Articles

JSTOR

• Sample search:
  • "esther hill hawks"
    • Narrow search by:
      • Articles
      • Language
      • Discipline (e.g., American Studies, Feminist & Women's Studies, History)
• Sample information source:
  • Schultz, J. E. (1992). The inhospitable hospital: Gender and professionalism in Civil War medicine. Signs, 17(2), 363-392.

Academic Search Premier

• Sample search:
  • "civil war"
    AND
    america* OR "united states"
    AND
    women
• Sample follow-up search:
  Narrow search by:
  • Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals  or  Academic Journals
  • Subject  (e.g., women & war / civil war, 1861-1865)
• Sample information source:
  • Miller, W. J. (2000). The women of the U.S. Sanitary Commission risked their own health to care for sick and wounded Union soldiers. America's Civil War, 13(4), 58-59.

Project Muse

• Sample search:
  • "civil war"
    AND
    america* OR "united states"
    AND
    women
    • Limit search by:
      • Content Type  (e.g., Journals -- Articles)
      • Research Area  (e.g., History > U.S. History > Civil War Era)
      • Additional search terms  (e.g., doctor* OR nurs* OR medical OR hospital*)
• Sample information source:
  • Wood, A. D. (1972). The war within a war: Women nurses in the Union Army. Civil War History, 18(3), 197-212.

Media

Films on Demand

• Sample search using the Advanced Search:
  • civil war
    AND
    united states
    • Filter search (e.g., Subjects (e.g., History), Language)
• Sample information source:
  • A&E Networks. (2010). Battlefield medicine. In Civil War--America: The story of us [Video file]. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.bethel.edu/login?url=http://fod.infobase.com.ezproxy.bethel.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=107283&xtid=43278&loid=112587

Examples of resources linked under the Primary Sources link in which to begin searching:

Online

LibSearch

• Sample searches:
  • Use the Advanced Search so you can select the "Subject" field in which to search
  • Use an official Subject such as: 
    • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
    • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
  • Add other search terms in another search box to further narrow your search:
    • doctor* OR physician* OR medic* OR hospital*
    • women OR female* OR lady OR ladies
  • When the search results page appears, narrow search by:
    • Full Text Online
    • Book
    • Bethel University
• Sample information source:
  • Tucker, S. C. (Ed.). (2013). American Civil War: The definitive encyclopedia and document collection. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Historical New York Times

• Sample search:
  • women OR female* OR lady OR ladies
    AND
    doctor* OR physician* OR medical
    • Narrow search by publication dates 1861-1865
• Sample information sources:
  • The question of female physicians. (1854, January 15). New York Times (1857-1922), p. 5.

Other Websites

• Sample sources:
  • American Memory
    • Sample search:
      esther hill hawks
    • Sample information source:
      • The Library of Congress. Manuscript Division. (n.d.). Health and medicine: Civil War. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/
  • Civil War Trust
    • Sample search:
      women doctors
    • Sample information source:
      • Civil War Trust. (n.d.). Georgeanna Woolsey: A day in the life of a Northern nurse. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/on-the-homefront/culture/nurse.html
  • Digital Public Library of America -- Primary Source Sets
    • Sample search:
      • (Click on the Primary Source Set:  "Women in the Civil War")
    • Sample information source:
      •  Kitter, T. (2016, March 25). Women in nursing during the Civil War [Blog post]. Retrieved from the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library website: http://blog.nyhistory.org/women-in-nursing-during-the-civil-war/
        (Contains quotes from letters, a notebook regarding patients, etc.)
  • Library of Congress -- Digital Collections
    • Sample search:
      civil war
    • Sample information source:
      • Library of Congress. Digital Collections. (n.d.). Clara Barton papers. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/collections/clara-barton-papers/about-this-collection/
      • NOTE:  If digital collections provide finding aids, use them!

Print

LibSearch

• Sample searches:
  • Use the Advanced Search so you can select the "Subject" field in which to search
  • Use an official Subject such as: 
    • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
    • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
  • Add other search terms in another search box to further narrow your search:
    • doctor* OR physician* OR medic* OR hospital*
    • women OR female* OR lady OR ladies
  • When the search results page appears, narrow search by:
    • Book
    • Bethel University
• Sample information source:
  • Glenapp, W. E. (2001). The Civil War and Reconstruction: A documentary collection. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

WorldCat

• Sample information source:
  • Hawks, E. H., & Schwartz, G. (1994). A woman doctor's Civil War: Esther Hill Hawks' diary. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.