Research · History · Shenandoah Valley

The Jack Ackerly Civil War Library

Located on the top floor of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation headquarters at 9386 S. Congress Street in New Market, the Jack Ackerly Civil War Library brings together:

  • More than 5,000 books specializing in Shenandoah Valley and Virginia Civil War history.

  • More than 6,000 periodicals dating from the 1860s to today, including publications of the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society and Shenandoah University’s Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War.

  • A dedicated Shenandoah Valley Research Room for focused study.

  • Searchable online book and periodical databases, available below.

Plan a research visit

Library Hours

Open Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Other times may be available to individual researchers by arrangement. Please contact us if you need assistance.

Help preserve the collection

Volunteer with the Library

Volunteers help the Jack Ackerly Library inventory, accession, and catalogue its growing collection of Civil War books and magazines. Opportunities also include transcribing, researching, documenting, cataloguing, and photographing letters, documents, photographs, and objects in the Foundation’s collection.

Ask about volunteering

Explore the collection

Search Our Library

Search by keyword to find books and articles in the Jack Ackerly Civil War Library. The two databases are organized separately below.

Search tip 01

Find an item

Enter a title, author, subject, place, or other keyword in the search box above the database.

Search tip 02

View and sort results

Select the plus icon beside a row for more details. Select a column heading once for A–Z order and again for Z–A.

Database 01

Search Books

Database 02

Search Articles

The Shenandoah Valley Civil War Periodical Index