Research Arsenal

09/10/2026

"How do you know that a specific regiment used a that tactics manual"?

We get this question a lot on how we know that one regiment used Casey's tactics while another regiment used a different manual. Or how we know if the 1st MI Cav used Poinsett's Cavalry Tactics vs the 11th OVC who used Cooke's manual.

This is how we know: scanning through thousands of records, ledgers, and order books you find fun nuggets of information like this photo from one of the orders from the 126th NY Infantry. Not only does this order specify what manual to use, it also specifies what drills to focus on.

It's finds like this that make us love the material culture of the Civil War!

09/10/2026

Have any of you digitized your collections? If so, are you doing anything with those files?

There are multiple ways to make use of your digital collection. Here are 4 benefits of a digitized collection.

09/09/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, can you identify this piece of artillery? Post your guesses below and check back Friday for the answer!

09/07/2026

Martin Culver was born in 1833 to Martin Culver and Lucy P. (Bailey) Culver of Portland, Connecticut. He enlisted in company A of the 16th Connecticut Infantry in 1862. The letters in the Research Arsenal collection were all written to his sister, Harriet “Hattie” Culver.
Martin Culver’s letters begin on September 10, 1862, when the 16th Connecticut Infantry was at Pleasant Valley, Maryland. Humorously, he found himself greatly annoyed at the large number of bands around him. Regimental bands had been ordered to disband by General McClellan on August 9, 1862, but evidently still remained active a month later when Martin Culver wrote his letter.

“I should like to be out of the hearing of music for one day and see if I could not hear myself think. We have got about 50 bands of different kinds all around us and they are a thrashing all the time. But that is not all. There has been heavy firing on our right center all this forenoon in the direction of Harper’s Ferry. I have not found out what forces have been engaged but I think it is part of Maeclenans [McClellan’s]. We are very strong here. We don’t know as we have got to move at present. I think that we shall not stay here much longer in this place but we may. You can’t find out anything here.”

Read the rest on the blog!

09/04/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we asked you to describe the item in question from the description in the 1865 Quartermaster Manual. The answer is an ink eraser. When writing with ink, if a mistake was made, a sharp blade was used to scrape the inked paper. This practice seems to work best on thicker layered paper, and would not be possible on modern copy paper.

Here is the full description:
"Erasors [Erasers]-the blade to be of pure steel 1 inch long, and 5/8 of an inch broad at widest part; neck of erasor [eraser] 1/4 of an inch long and 1/16 of an inch thick; the shank to be inserted in the handle 3/4 of an inch; the handle to be of bone or ivory 4 inches long."

Photo: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/ink-eraser-knives.1795916/
Quartermaster Manual: https://app.researcharsenal.com/quartermaster-manuals/52

09/03/2026

The Research Arsenal is proud to be digitizing and adding historical records of Civil War regiments held at the National Archives to our online database so that researchers and historians can access material that previously required a trip to Washington D.C. The 2nd Maine Infantry is one of the many regiments that has been added to our database.

The 2nd Maine Infantry is one of the many Civil War regiments whose National Archives records have been added to our database.

09/02/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, can you identify the object described here in the 1865 Quartermaster Manual?

"-the blade to be of pure steel 1 inch long, and 5/8 of an inch broad at widest part; neck of [Item] 1/4 of an inch long and 1/16 of an inch thick; the shank to be inserted in the handle 3/4 of an inch; the handle to be of bone or ivory 4 inches long."

Post your guesses below and check back Friday for the answer!

Photo: 7th New York State Militia Infantry, Camp Cameron, D.C. 1861: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/68800

08/31/2026

Joseph Philp was born in Crediton, England in 1843 to Joseph Philp and Ellen Ann (Hutchinson) Philp. The family immigrated to the United States sometime in the mid 1840s. He enlisted in October, 1862, and served as a corporal in Companies B and C of the 161st New York Infantry.

On February 28, 1864, Joseph Philp wrote from Franklin, Louisiana to his father. The regiment had spent the winter in Louisiana and was now preparing to embark on the Red River Campaign, though the soldiers knew little about their intended destination, or the exact time of their departure, as Joseph Philp detailed in his letter.

“You will be surprised to hear that we are again under marching orders, again to make our way up through to Red River. I do not know how soon we will leave this place but I presume in less than ten days as we are ordered to pack our knapsacks so that they can be sent back to Brashear City or New Orleans. I think they have given us a short rest but it is time if we should have this rebellious war brought to a close, the sooner the better for both sides.”

By this time Joseph Philp was halfway through his three-year term of service. In the same letter, he wrote about the current size of his company which was much diminished from the ideal strength of one hundred men per company.

“All of the boys are well as common, I believe. Our comp have increased since we got back here. We have now with us 42 men — all good for duty. Some days one or two get excused from duty but that is nothing. It does not stop the progress of the days work. Even if death takes a comrade, it is not noticed in our duty. It is one thing over and over.”

Read the rest on the blog!

Joseph Philp was born in Crediton, England in 1843 to Joseph Philp and Ellen Ann (Hutchinson) Philp. The family immigrated to the United States sometime in

08/28/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we asked you to identify the type of hat this soldier is wearing. He is wearing a Whipple hat, a short-lived experimental hybrid cap and havelock patented in July 1861 by John F. Whipple. It featured fabric flaps to cover the neck in order to help prevent sunburn. It proved unpopular with the men who often removed the flaps and repurposed the fabric or simply discarded it.

Photo is of an unidentified soldier of an unknown regiment: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/10414

08/27/2026

The Research Arsenal is proud to be digitizing and adding historical records of Civil War regiments held at the National Archives to our online database so that researchers and historians can access material that previously required a trip to Washington D.C. The 15th Illinois Infantry is one of the many regiments that has been added to our database.

The 15th Illinois Infantry's records from the National Archives has been added to our database. Story of Philo Handy and Lucius Barber.