Dale Center for the Study of War and Society
War Stories: Civil War Governors of Mississippi
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Civil War Governors of Mississippi, 1859-1882 (CWGM) is a digital history project that provides free online access to all of the
state's governors' papers from just before the Civil War through the era of Reconstruction.
Mississippi was one of the most powerful states in the Union when it seceded and joined
the Confederacy. Over the next sixteen years, Mississippians played an active role
in a war that brought revolutionary change through military campaigns, emancipation,
and army occupation. Mississippians of all backgrounds described these changes in
their frequent letters to their governors, which make the governors' papers incredibly
important for understanding how Mississippians experienced this revolutionary era.
War Stories: Civil War Governors of Mississippi, 1859-1882 is changing the way we think, write, and teach about the American Civil War and Reconstruction by making these collections readily accessible online. It didn't matter if you were a man or woman, rich or poor, or black or white — Mississippians across the spectrum contacted their governor about every issue imaginable, which makes this collection truly representative of this diverse state.
The challenge in the past has been that the original, paper collection is so massive
that scholars, teachers, and the public often lacked the time to thoroughly mine it
for information. That is why CWGM — a partnership between the Dale Center, The University
of Southern Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Mississippi Digital Library — is digitizing, transcribing, and providing historical context for the nearly 50,000
pages of letters, military telegrams, and official orders that came into the governors'
office as the state navigated secession, joined the Confederacy, experienced destructive
military invasions, witnessed the end of slavery, and faltered through the uneasy
and violent peace that followed the war. By making these documents available free
and online, CWGM is revolutionizing how scholars, teachers, students, and the public
understand, teach, and write about the Civil War.
For more information, contact CWGM Project Director Susannah J. Ural, Ph.D. at susannah.uralFREEMississippi or 601.266.5004.
