The CSACW is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to promote and inspire the study of the American Civil War by providing historians access to primary original Civil War resources like letters, diaries and journals via the Internet.

The CSACW was started in January 2003 by Kraig Blair, a private collector and Civil War enthusiast; and by Steven E. Woodworth, Ph.D., who teaches at TCU. Blair serves as the executive Director and Woodworth is the Chairman.

Why is there a need for the CSACW?

The CSACW fills an important "gap" in our understanding and study of the American Civil War. There are thousands of private collectors of original primary Civil War resources throughout the United States. Some people have been collecting for decades, and some have been collecting through generations. Therefore, a tremendous amount of historically valuable Civil War resources reside in private collections which means scholars and historians have no way to access, thereby interpreting and presenting their findings and thoughts for general consumption by Civil War enthusiasts. The CSACW fills that gap by partnering with private collectors and professional historians.