The Department of Special Collections and Archives at Kent State University houses a variety of books and archival collections related to the United States Civil War. The two primary groups of materials covered in this guide are books and archival collections (papers, letters, diaries, photographs, etc.)
To access these non-circulating materials, come to our Reading Room on the 12th floor of the Main Library where our staff will facilitate your research needs. We strongly encourage you to contact us in advance with your specific needs in relation to the Civil War.
The Kent State University Libraries department of Special Collections and Archives has a strong collection of Civil War books and periodicals. Highlights include print issues of Harper’s Weekly covering the war years, a complete roster of Ohio soldiers of the Civil War, including the index to that multi-volume roster, and a large collection of juvenile series books with Civil War themes. For more information, please see our list of major subject areas and categories of books and periodicals we hold on the Civil War.
You can search for books and periodicals held in KentLINK. Please see our Hints page for more information.
The Department of Special Collections and Archives offers rich holdings in Civil War archival materials. These collections contain primary documents that span the years of the Civil War such as Ohio military records, manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, and much more. View a detailed list of our Civil War archival collections.