Research Guides: American Civil War: Resources in Special Collections: Historical Newspapers

About Historical Newspapers

Historic newspapers are a rich primary source that can be used to investigate social and political information about the past. Historical newspapers from the Civil War era can provide information about the local impact of the war and how it was covered by journalists at the time.

Newspaper coverage of the Civil War often includes details of individual battles and military campaigns, political coverage, illustrations drawn on site or based on photographs, editorials, and eye witness accounts of events.

The Maryland Room has an a variety of Civil War newspapers available on microfilm. Use the list on the right to browse a selection of these titles. For more information on newspapers in the Maryland Collection, visit the Newspapers of Maryland webpage.

In addition to microfilmed and digitized newspapers, the Maryland Collection also contains original newspapers from the Civil War era. These titles are searchable using the UMD online catalog. A PDF inventory of the Original Newspaper Collection is also available. Use the date category to search for titles published between 1861 and 1865.

Some early American newspapers have been digitized and are available to search using Database Finder. The University of Maryland has also made available a collection of early digitized newspapers as part of the Accessible Archives database. Titles are searchable by keyword.

For more information using newspapers for your research, visit the interpreting primary and secondary sources guide from the University of Maryland libraries.

Image (top): Front page of Harper's Weekly from May 11, 1861 featuring portraits of Colonel E. Ellsworth (top, left) and Colonel William Wilson. Weeks later Ellsworth would become the first Union officer killed in the Civil War. Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries, Original Newspaper Collection, Box 28.

Databases

Database Finder offers online access to databases and journal articles, and is available only at University of Maryland Libraries or to University of Maryland staff and students. Below is a list of databases pertaining to historical newspapers.

African American Newspapers
This collection of African-American newspapers contains information about the cultural life and history during the 1800s, and contains first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day pertaining to African Americans.
African American Newspapers, 1827-1998
Digitized and fully searchable collections of more than 270 African American newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries.
America's Historical Newspapers
Digitized and fully searchable collections of early American newspapers. Includes five databases, Early American Newspapers Series 1 - 3 and African American Newspapers which can be searched together or separately, as well as select Maryland newspapers including the Maryland Gazette (1728-1832) and Baltimore American (1861-1870, 1903-1922). Early American Newspapers includes more than 1,000 U.S. newspapers published between 1690 and 1922. African American Newspaper includes more than 270 African American newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Baltimore Sun, the (1837-1994) (Historical Newspapers)
Provides complete issues of The Baltimore Sun from 1837-1992. Search by keyword and more....
Black Abolitionist papers, 1830-1865
Online full-text primary source collection is the first to comprehensively detail the extensive work of African Americans to abolish slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War.
Chicago Tribune (1849-1997) (Historical Newspapers)
The Chicago Tribune (1849-1997) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
Detroit Free Press (1831-1922) (Historical Newspapers)
The Detroit Free Press (1831-1922) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
Hartford Courant (1764 - 1922) (Historical Newspapers)
The Hartford Courant (1764 - 1985) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue
New York Times (1851-2016 )
The New York Times Historical (1851-2016 ) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
New York Tribune (1841-1922)
The New York Tribune (1841-1922) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

Newspapers on Microfilm

There are several Civil War newspapers available on microfilm in the Maryland Room. The following is a sampling of these titles, followed by the years covered available. Click on a title to view the full catalog record.