Visit Project Project Details
The Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition (CWGK) animates the lives of Kentuckians between Lincoln's election in November of 1860 to the destruction of slavery in December 1865. Using the office of Kentucky's five wartime governors--three Unionists and two Confederates--as a lens, CWGK captures the intersection of social, political, and military concerns as ordinary people experienced the conflict. To date, CWGK has digitized and transcribed over 10,000 documents that touch on nearly every facet of mid-nineteenth century life. Additionally, project staff annotate every person, place, and organization that appears within in-scope documents, building social networks and restoring personhood to historical actors ranging from elite politicians to enslaved Kentuckians.
Subjects or Themes
Civil War History; Kentucky History; African American History; Military history; Political History; Social history
Project Language(s)
English
Time Period
Geographic Location
Project Categories
Content Type
Transcribed Documents, Social Networks, Teacher Resources
Target Audience(s)
Creators
CWGK is a project of the Kentucky Historical Society, built with the support and cooperation of state, federal, and private partners. It is currently directed by Dr. Charles Welsko of the Kentucky Historical Society.
Year(s)
2010 to present
Host Institution / Affiliation / Project Location
Kentucky Historical Society
Software Employed
- Omeka
- MashBill; Filemaker; FromThePage
Labor and Support
CWGK has relied on a diversity of support to build its project. The Kentucky Historical Society has contributed staff resources to building and sustaining the project. With the support of the NHPRC, CWGK has hired full-time staff members and grad students to complete research. NEH-funding has also supported full-time editorial staff. Volunteers, interns, external scholars, technical experts, and other supporters have also generously dedicated their time to ensuring that the project is a success. For a full list of supporters visit http://discovery.civilwargovernors.org/staff and http://discovery.civilwargovernors.org/graduate-research-associates.
The work of CWGK is ongoing and continues to provide new ways to understand and interpret Kentucky's Civil War.
Project Cost
Partnerships, funding sources, or grant-funding acknowledgement
CWGK has been made possible through the support and cooperation of the National Endowment of the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (at the National Archives), the Kentucky Department for Library and Archives, the Mary Todd Lincoln House, and the Filson Historical Society.
