The Indiana Pennsylvania in the Civil War Era project involves the digitization of primary sources including letters, diaries, and modern and historical photographs that document the experience of men and women of Indiana County, PA during the Civil War era which are now held in the collections of Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Special Collections or the Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County.
Central to the collection will be the papers of the White family, including a diary kept by Pennsylvania State Senator Harry White, who fought for the North during the Civil War and was imprisoned in Libby Prison and a number of other prisons across the South, the letters of his father Thomas White, a prominent judge who was involved in the organization of the Republican Party in Pittsburgh, Richard White, a brother who also served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and letters to them from the Pennsylvania governor and high ranking representatives of the federal government. Also included will be other diaries of Civil War soldiers from the Indiana County area.
Together these primary sources will provide a glimpse into the experience of Civil War soldiers and their families at home and political life during the war and hopefully making it easier for researchers to form a better understanding of the Civil War in Indiana County.
Currently, access to the original resources is very limited. The HGSIC is open from 9 am to 4pm Tuesday through Friday and Saturday from 10am to 3 pm. and the hours of the Special Collections section of IUP Library are similarly restrictive. This project will make these materials available 24/7 to researchers with access to the lnternet.


Return to collection