Featured Primary Sources

Military History

Nothing can enrich and enliven our understanding of the nation’s past, or dispel apathy about it, more powerfully than primary sources. The primary sources below open up a variety of viewpoints and have been chosen by master teachers specifically for use in the classroom. Affiliate School members can print a packet that includes an image of the document, photograph, or other resource, a transcript where applicable, and text to place the document in historical context. Additionally, you may want to search the Gilder Lehrman Collection itself for other resources to enrich your lessons.

Letter from John S. Mosby to Sam Chapman, June 4, 1907. (GLC03921.21p1)

A former Confederate officer on slavery and the Civil War, 1907

Creator: John S. Mosby Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Abraham Lincoln, General Orders No. 141, September 25, 1862 (Gilder Lehrman Coll

A proclamation on the suspension of habeas corpus, 1862

Creator: Abraham Lincoln Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Sidney Diamond to Estelle Spero, ca. April 1942 (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

A soldier’s reasons for enlisting, 1942

Creator: Sidney Diamond Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Charge of the Massachusetts 54th, Currier & Ives, 1863. (GLC)

African American soldiers at the Battle of Fort Wagner, 1863

Creator: Currier & Ives Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Alexander Hamilton to François, Marquis de Barbé-Marbois, October 12, 1780 (GLC)

Alexander Hamilton’s “gloomy” view of the American Revolution, 1780

Creator: Alexander Hamilton Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
“Be a Cadet Nurse,” United States Public Health Service, 1944. (GLC09520.04)

Cadet Nurse Corps, 1943

Creator: US Public Health Service Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississippi [map of North America], by Guil

Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi, 1718

Creator: Guillaume De l’Isle Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels:
Brett G. Coughlin to Kit, December 26, 1990 (Andrew Carroll/The Legacy Project)

Christmas in Kuwait, 1990

Creator: Brett G. Coughlin Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels:
P. G. T. Beauregard, General Orders 44, May 19, 1862. (GLC00666)

Confederate reaction to “Beast” Butler’s orders, 1862

Creator: P. G. T. Beauregard Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Hunt, September 26, 1901 (Gilder Lehrman Collec

Confirming governors for territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, 1901

Creator: Theodore Roosevelt Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Braxton Bragg to Henry J. Hunt, April 21, 1861. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Correspondence between Gen. Braxton Bragg and Col. Henry J. Hunt, 1861

Creator: Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
William E. Mitchell to Lester D. Gardner, July 26, 1924 (Gilder Lehrman Collecti

Creating the Air Force, 1924

Creator: William Mitchell Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Paul Jones Semmes to Emily J. Semmes, July 9, 1863 (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Death of a soldier, 1863: Paul Semmes

Creator: Paul Jones Semmes Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Mark Rickert to Merle Kilgore, September 14, 2003. ( Andrew Carroll / The Legacy

Discovering a mass grave in Iraq, 2003

Creator: Mark Rickert Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Henry Knox to George Washington, December 17, 1775 (GLC02437.00222)

Dragging cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, 1775

Creator: Henry Knox Curriculum Subjects: Geography Grade Levels:
William T. Sherman to James H. Wilson, January 21, 1865. (GLC02947)

General Sherman on the “March to the Sea,” 1865

Creator: William T. Sherman Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Letterbook related to the Newburgh Conspiracy, March 1783 (Gilder Lehrman Collec

George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy, 1783

Creator: Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
George Washington to Henry Knox, February 3, 1787. (Gilder Lehrman Collectio

George Washington discusses Shays’ Rebellion and the upcoming Constitutional Convention, 1787

Creator: George Washington Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
George Washington to the New Hampshire legislature, December 29, 1777. (GLC)

George Washington from Valley Forge on the urgent need for men and supplies, 1777

Creator: George Washington Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Henry Knox to Lucy Knox, July 8, 1776. (GLC02437.00363)

Henry Knox on the British invasion of New York, 1776

Creator: Henry Knox Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Henry Knox, Order of march to Trenton, December 26, 1776 (Gilder Lehrman Collect

Henry Knox’s Order of March to Trenton, 1776

Creator: Henry Knox Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Thomas Jefferson to James Maury Esq., June 16, 1815. (Gilder Lehrman Collect

Jefferson on British aggression, 1815

Creator: Thomas Jefferson Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Thomas Jefferson to Marquis de Lafayette, June 16, 1792. (GLC08063p2)

Jefferson on the French and Haitian Revolutions, 1792

Creator: Thomas Jefferson Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Samuel Mostyn to Thomas Pennant, June 7, 1778. (GLC09023)

Loyalists and the British evacuation of Philadelphia, 1778

Creator: Samuel Mostyn Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Lucy Knox to Henry Knox, May 1777. (GLC05895)

Lucy Knox on the home front during the Revolutionary War, 1777

Creator: Lucy Knox Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Paul Revere, “The Bloody Massacre in King-Street, March 5, 1770.” Boston, 1770.

Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre, 1770

Creator: Paul Revere Curriculum Subjects: Art, World History Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Irving Kaplan, Preliminary statement of the Association of Manhattan District Sc

Physicists predict a nuclear arms race, 1945

Creator: Association of Manhattan District Scientists Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The Inaugural address of President Abraham Lincoln delivered at the National Cap

President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 1865

Creator: Abraham Lincoln Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
King George III, Proclamation of 1763, 1763. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Proclamation of 1763

Creator: George III, King of Great Britain Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Colored Man is No Slacker, print by E.G. Renesch, Chicago, Illinois, 1918. (Gild

Recruiting posters for African American soldiers, 1918

Creator: Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Draft of Robert E. Lee's address to his troops, ca. May 14, 1864. (GLC04429)

Robert E. Lee’s message to his troops before the Battle of Spotsylvania, 1864

Creator: Robert E. Lee Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:

Robert F. Kennedy on Vietnam, 1967

Creator: Robert F. Kennedy Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Francis H. Fletcher to Jacob C. Safford, May 28, 1864. (GLC07345)

Sergeant Francis Fletcher of the 54th Massachusetts on equal pay for black soldiers, 1864

Creator: Francis Fletcher Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Sir Francis Drake’s attack on St. Augustine, 1586

Creator: Baptista Boazio Curriculum Subjects: Economics, World History Grade Levels:
[Map of Yorktown, Virginia], October 1781 (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Surrender of the British General Cornwallis to the Americans, October 19, 1781

Creator: Lord Cornwallis Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Texas Declaration of Independence, March 2, 1836. (GLC02559)

Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836

Creator: Delegates of the People of Texas Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
"Bloody Butchery by the British Troops,” broadside by Ezekiel Russell, 1775. (Th

The Battles of Lexington and Concord, 1775

Creator: Ezekiel Russell Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Benjamin Duvivier, George Washington before Boston, medal, ca. 1790 (GLC03221)

The British evacuation of Boston, 1776

Creator: Benjamin Duvivier Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
David M. Stauffer, Two volumes of original artwork by an ensign on the USS Al

The Civil War and early submarine warfare, 1863

Creator: David M. Stauffer and Lewis H. West Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels:

The Cold War in the classroom, 1952

Creator: Federal Civil Defense Administration Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Emancipation Proclamation [California printing, Cheesman copy], January 1, 1863

The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

Creator: Abraham Lincoln Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Edward Kennedy to Mr. Thursby, April 25, 1973 (GLC09526)

The end of the Vietnam War: conscience, resistance, and reconciliation, 1973

Creator: Edward M. Kennedy Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863 (Gilder Lehrman Collectio

The Gettysburg Address, 1863

Creator: Abraham Lincoln Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
President’s Annual Message to Congress, Washington Republican Extra, Dec. 2, 18

The Monroe Doctrine, 1823

Creator: James Monroe Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
A Memorial of the State of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England to Q

The Province of Massachusetts Bay requests aid from Queen Anne, 1708

Creator: Thomas Oliver Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Expeditionis Hispanorum in Angliam, 1588, by Robert Adams (London, 1590). (LOC)

The Spanish Armada

Creator: Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels:
True copy of articles, whereupon . . . the New Netherlands were surren

The surrender of New Netherland, 1664

Creator: Richard Nicholls Curriculum Subjects: Geography Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant, April 9, 1865. (GLC07967)

The surrender of Robert E. Lee, 1865

Creator: Robert E. Lee Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Theodore Roosevelt to Oscar King Davis, June 23, 1915. (Gilder Lehrman Collectio

Theodore Roosevelt on the sinking of the Lusitania, 1915

Creator: Theodore Roosevelt Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Peace Congress, Versailles 1919, Session of 28 June 1919: Agenda. Signature of t

Treaty of Versailles and President Wilson, 1919 and 1921

Creator: Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Pvt. Elbert Corbin to his wife, July 6, 1863. (GLC)

Union soldier turns medic at Gettysburg, 1863

Creator: Elbert Corbin Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mimeograph re: ”Victory order of the Day” with typed signa

Victory Order of the Day, 1945

Creator: Dwight D. Eisenhower Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels:
William T. Sherman to David Douty Colton, September 26, 1878 (Gilder Lehrman Col

William T. Sherman on the western railroads, 1878

Creator: William Tecumseh Sherman Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
“Remember Dec. 7th!” Office of War Information, 1942. (GLC09520.08)

World War II: Commemorating Pearl Harbor, 1941

Creator: Office of War Information Curriculum Subjects: Art Grade Levels:
US Food Administration. Food Will Win the War, ca. 1917. (GLC09522)

“Food Will Win the War,” 1917

Creator: United States Food Administration Curriculum Subjects: Economics, World History Grade Levels:
“Men of Color, to Arms! to Arms!” broadside, ca. 1863 (Private Collection)

“Men of Color, To Arms! To Arms,” 1863

Creator: Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: