Reflections on the Civil War in New Jersey: Men, Women, and Archives

Abstract

Introduction and Acknowledgments this special issue of The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries (JRUL) commemorates the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the american civil War (1861–1865) in the state of new Jersey. although the battlefields were miles from its borders, the bitter struggles of the civil War had a profound effect on new Jersey, which supplied over 88,000 men to the Union armies, and was represented in every major battle. 6,082 enlisted men and 218 officers lost their lives in the course of the war.1 the thousands of new Jersey men wounded in the war suffered untold physical, psychological, and economic hardships in the years ahead. on the home front, women, children, and the elderly struggled to keep farms, businesses, and schools afloat in the absence of husbands, sons, and fathers. Women played an important role in supporting the war, both at home and on the battlefield, despite the constrictions of gender roles of the time. While new Jersey african americans welcomed the fight to abolish slavery, their role in the conflict was also limited by the racist structures and beliefs of their society. the authors who have contributed to this special issue of the JRUL will explore all of these issues. this sesquicentennial period (2011–2015) has reignited interest in the civil War, resulting in numerous publications, exhibitions, and public programs throughout the state, particularly through the efforts of the new Jersey civil War sesquicentennial committee. special collections and University archives of Rutgers University libraries (sc/Ua) sponsored a major exhibition, Struggle Without End: New Jersey and the Civil War, and a series of programs, which were generously supported by the new Jersey council for the humanities, a state partner of the national endowment for the humanities. several of the program presenters are contributors