University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library

June 26, 2026

New IDHH Collection of Civil War Correspondence

The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!

This month we’re featuring a new collection that contains historic correspondence and relate materials during the US Civil War: George Durfee Correspondence and Papers (1861–1901) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

Born in Michigan, George S. Durfee (1840–1907) was living in Decatur, Illinois, when he joined Company A, 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in 1861. Durfee’s correspondence describes his experience in camp life and campaigns and battles, including Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, and the occupation of Texas, as he rose through the ranks to captain while serving with the unit until 1866. Though most of the correspondence is between Durfee and his uncle, there are also letters from Durfee’s mother and sister. After the war, Durfee returned to Decatur and in 1867 married Sally Powers. In 1901, Illinois Governor Richard Yates (1860–1936) appointed Durfee a member of the Illinois-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, charged with marking the positions of Illinois troops at the Siege of Vicksburg. The Commission’s report, Illinois at Vicksburg, was published in 1907 after the dedication of the Illinois Memorial in 1906 at Vicksburg National Military Park, to commemorate the Illinois soldiers who fought and died there during the Vicksburg campaign.

Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection that tell the story of different battles and campaigns during the American Civil War, as well as the age-old problem of “why haven’t you written me back yet?”:

color image of handwritten letter — Letter from Margaret Durfee [Mother] (Decatur) to George S. Durfee, June 7, 1861
[page 1]. June 7, 1861. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

color image of certificate from Illinois Vicksburg Commission to George S. Durfee — Letter from Illinois Vicksburg Commission to George S. Durfee, November 14, 1901 [page 1, certificate]. November 14, 1901. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

Want to see more?

Visit the IDHH to view more collections and items from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library and the entire George Durfee Correspondence and Papers (1861–1901), or to view more items related to the American Civil War and Illinois’ roles in the war. You can also read the Illinois at Vicksburg report through the Internet Archive and see George Durfee’s signature and picture on pages 11-12. Or, if you’re in Vicksburg, Mississippi, you can visit the Vicksburg National Military Park and view the Illinois Memorial (currently closed for restoration).

May 22, 2026

New IDHH Collection of Historic War Papers

The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!

This month, in honor of Memorial Day, we’re featuring a new collection full of materials related to university courses and activities during World War I: the Evarts B. Greene World War I Papers, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. An American historian, Evarts B. Greene (1870–1947) was a professor and administrator at the University of Illinois from 1894 through 1923, when he was appointed the first De Witt Clinton professor of history at Columbia University until his retirement in 1939. During his tenure as head of the History Department at the University of Illinois, Greene served as chair of several committees related to campus activities during World War I. The items in this collection include correspondence and related materials to the “War Issues” course, an academic class required by the War Department for all university students enrolled in the Student Army Training Corps.

Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection that tell the history of the “War Issues” course:

black ink typed letter on yellow-colored paper — Letter from Evarts B. Greene (Urbana, Illinois) to Louis Pelzer (Iowa City, Iowa), October 23, 1918 [front]. October 23, 1918. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Evarts B. Greene, World War I papers, 1916-1920. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

black ink typed course description on paper yellowed with age — Preface of the University of Illinois’s Course on the Issues of the War, undated [page 1]. [n. d.] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Evarts B. Greene, World War I papers, 1916-1920. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

black ink typed letter with handwritten signature — Letter from W. Trelease to Evarts B. Greene, October 10, 1918 [front]. October 10, 1918. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Evarts B. Greene, World War I papers, 1916-1920. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

Want to see more?

Visit the IDHH to view more collections and items from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library or to view more items related to war and military history.

April 29, 2026

New IDHH Collection of Illinois Fish Illustrations

The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!

In celebration of Earth Day, this month we’re featuring a new collection of watercolor illustrations: the Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. The Fishes of Illinois (first edition 1908, second edition 1919) was the culmination of decades of work led by naturalist Stephen A. Forbes, chief of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History (now the Illinois Natural History Survey). Co-authored with ichthyologist Robert Earl Richardson, Forbes intended to create a reliable guide for the fish species present in Illinois, including color illustrations alongside descriptions of each species’ anatomy and appearance, habitat and distribution through Illinois, and lifecycle and taxonomy as known at the time. In the introduction, Forbes attributes the gorgeous illustrations to Lydia M. (Hart) Greene and Charlotte M. Pinkerton, whose signatures can be seen on some of the illustrations in the digital collection.

Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection:

watercolor sketch of the fish Etheostoma coeruleum on cream paper. — Etheostoma coeruleum. [n. d.] Created by Charlotte M. Pinkerton. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

watercolor sketch of the fish Notropis whipplii on black paper. — Charlotte M. Pinkerton’s Notropis whipplii. Created by Charlotte M. Pinkerton. 1903. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

watercolor sketch of the fish Ameiurus nebulosus on cream paper. — Ameiurus nebulosus. [n. d.] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

watercolor illustration of the fish Ictiobus bubalus on cream paper. — Lydia M. Hart’s Ictiobus bubalus. Created by Lydia M. (Hart) Green. [n. d.] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

watercolor sketch of the fish Lampetra wilderi on cream paper. — Lampetra wilderi. [n. d.] Created by Charlotte M. Pinkerton. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.

Want to see more?

Visit the IDHH to view more collections and items from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library or to view more items related to Stephen A. Forbes (including his Civil War Diary), fish or Earth Day, or you can visit the IDHH previous blog post Unearthing the Roots of Earth Day. You can also visit the Illinois Natural History Survey to learn more about their history and current research.