April 9 will mark the 150th anniversary of Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War, which had officially commenced on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Civil War is the central event in America's historical consciousness. The Union victory preserved the United States as one nation and ended the institution of slavery that had divided the country from its beginning. But these achievements came at the cost of 625,000 lives -- nearly as many American soldiers as have died in all the other wars in which this country has fought combined.
The Special Collections of the University of Delaware Library house a wealth of material on the Civil War and the exhibition features books, original manuscripts, correspondence, and documents; photographs, pamphlet literature, artifacts, memorabilia and ephemera related to his monumental event.
Credits
Curated by Timothy D. Murray
