Important Civil War documents find permanent home at Tulane
The papers of Jefferson Davis, photographs and diaries of soldiers and other important Civil War documents finally have a permanent home with the announcement that the Louisiana Historical Association has donated a significant collection of Civil War-related documents to the Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) at Tulane University. The collection had been on loan to Tulane since 1954.
Comprising more than 400 linear feet, the collection is an extraordinarily rich group of documents that includes the papers of Jefferson Davis, papers of General Albert Sidney Johnston, Civil War muster rolls, Civil War soldiers" diaries, pension records and records of Civil War heritage organizations including the Washington Artillery, Army of Northern Virginia, Army of Tennessee, United Confederate Veterans, United Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
The collection has been used by thousands of researchers and is the most frequently-consulted collection in LaRC"s vast archival holdings.
“Writers researching almost every aspect of the Civil War within the last 30 years have consulted this collection,” says Leon C. Miller, head of the LaRC. “And photographs and passages from soldiers" letters and diaries in the collection were used by Ken Burns for his documentary series on the Civil War.”
“The Louisiana Research Collection has proven itself to be a trusted and highly professional archival repository,” said Janet Allured, immediate past president of the Louisiana Historical Association. “We are very pleased to take this next step and now permanently donate our collection to LaRC so that we can be assured it will be preserved and made available to researchers from around the world.”
“These are international cultural treasures,” says Miller. “We accept them to make them available for people to use, and we have an ethical obligation to make them available to everyone on an equal basis and to ensure that visiting researchers feel welcome and comfortable."
