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The Valley of the Shadow is a digital history project about the American Civil War, launched in 1993^[1] and hosted by the University of Virginia. It details the experiences of Confederate soldiers from Augusta County, Virginia and Union soldiers from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Project founders William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers referred to it as "an applied experiment in digital scholarship."^[2] The site contains scanned copies of four newspapers from each of the counties in addition to those of surrounding cities such as Richmond and New York: the Staunton Spectator (Staunton, Virginia; Whig), the Republican Vindicator (Staunton, Virginia; Democratic), the Franklin Repository and Transcript (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; Republican), and the Valley Spirit (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; Democratic).^[3] Elsa A. Nystrom and Justin A. Nystrom state about the site:^[4]

...the digital article challenges the user to select their own path through the material, following what most closely aligns with their specific interests – "alternative readings" in the words of the authors. Initially, their use of the digital medium seems fairly straightforward until one realizes just how much is there, and as an extension, how much one might miss inadvertently.

In 2022, on the 30th anniversary of the project, New American History released an updated version of the Valley of the Shadow with enhanced images and search features.

References

^ Wilson, May Wright (1993). From the Valley of the Shadow. ISBN 0806245808.
^ William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers. "The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities". University of Virginia. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
^ "The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War". University of Virginia. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
^ Elsa A. Nystrom and Justin A. Nystrom (July 2005). "Beyond the Valley of the Shadow: Taking Stock of the Virginia Center for Digital History". MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 1 (1). PDF available here

External links

[1] Wilson, May Wright (1993). From the Valley of the Shadow. ISBN 0806245808.

[difference-2] William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers. "The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities". University of Virginia. Retrieved 4 August 2011.

[valley-3] "The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War". University of Virginia. Retrieved 4 August 2011.

[nystrom-4] Elsa A. Nystrom and Justin A. Nystrom (July 2005). "Beyond the Valley of the Shadow: Taking Stock of the Virginia Center for Digital History". MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 1 (1). PDF available here

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-''This page is about an American Civil war project. For other uses, see [[Valley of the Shadow (disambiguation)]]
+{{other uses|Valley of the Shadow (disambiguation)}}
-{{advert}}
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+'''The Valley of the Shadow''' is a [[digital history]] project about the [[American Civil War]], launched in 1993<ref>{{Cite book|isbn=0806245808 |title=From the Valley of the Shadow |last1=Wilson |first1=May Wright |year=1993 }}</ref> and hosted by [[University of Virginia|the University of Virginia]].  It details the experiences of [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] soldiers from [[Augusta County, Virginia|Augusta County]], [[Virginia]] and [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] soldiers from [[Franklin County, Pennsylvania|Franklin County]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States.
+Project founders [[William G. Thomas III]] and [[Edward L. Ayers]] referred to it as "an applied experiment in digital scholarship."<ref name=difference>{{cite web | url = http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/AHR/ | title = The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities | author = William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers | publisher = University of Virginia | accessdate = 4 August 2011}}</ref> The site contains scanned copies of four newspapers from each of the counties in addition to those of surrounding cities such as Richmond and New York: the Staunton ''Spectator'' ([[Staunton, Virginia]]; [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]), the ''Republican Vindicator'' (Staunton, Virginia; Democratic), the Franklin ''Repository and Transcript'' ([[Chambersburg, Pennsylvania]]; Republican), and the ''Valley Spirit'' (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; Democratic).<ref name=valley>{{cite web | url = http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/ | title = The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War | publisher = University of Virginia | accessdate = 4 August 2011}}</ref> Elsa A. Nystrom and Justin A. Nystrom state about the site:<ref name=nystrom>{{cite journal | journal = MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching | volume = 1 | number = 1 | author = Elsa A. Nystrom and Justin A. Nystrom | date = July 2005 | title = Beyond the Valley of the Shadow: Taking Stock of the Virginia Center for Digital History }} PDF available [http://jolt.merlot.org/documents/vol1_no1_nystrom.pdf here]</ref>
-'''The Valley of the Shadow''' is a [[digital history]] project hosted by [[University of Virginia|the University of Virginia]] detailing the experiences of [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] soldiers from [[Augusta County, Virginia|Augusta County]], [[Virginia]] and [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] soldiers from [[Franklin County, Pennsylvania|Franklin County]], [[Pennsylvania]].  It is considered one of the most impressive uses of new technology in representing history.
+{{quote|...the digital article challenges the user to select their own path through the material, following what most closely aligns with their specific interests – "alternative readings" in the words of the authors. Initially, their use of the digital medium seems fairly straightforward until one realizes just how much is there, and as an extension, how much one might miss inadvertently.}}In 2022, on the 30th anniversary of the project, [https://www.newamericanhistory.org/ New American History] released an updated version of the [https://valley.newamericanhistory.org/ Valley of the Shadow] with enhanced images and search features.
-This site is versatile in its layout and provides many search options. Students, teachers, and the occasional historian will truly get a real-life experience when searching this site. The home page is laid out with pre-war, war, and post-war information. Official records, such as census and church records, personal diaries and letters, as well as newspapers, references, and images are easily accessible links.
+==References==
-'''Newspapers''':
+{{Reflist}}
-The newspapers are scanned copies of newspapers from each of the counties in addition to those of surrounding cities such as Richmond and New York. The site offers a variety of newspapers clearly providing readers with the different opinions of the time. They chose four papers: “the Staunton ''Spectator'' (Staunton, Virginia; Whig), the ''Republican Vindicator'' (Virginia; Democratic), the Franklin ''Repository and Transcript'' ([[Chambersburg, Pennsylvania]]; Republican), and the ''Valley Spirit'' (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; Democratic).”
+==Further reading==
-It is possible to search the articles in a general fashion or pick a topic such as African American race relations or arts and entertainment. The papers can be viewed in their original format or they can be viewed in a typed format on the site. The site warns that the language has not been edited and it may be offensive. Some article titles are “A White Heiress Elopes with a Negro,” “Celebration of the 4th at Staunton," and “Reconstruction of Southern Industry.”
+* [[Abdul Alkalimat|Alkalimat, Abdul]], ''The African American Experience in Cyberspace: A Resource Guide to the Best Web Sites on Black Culture and History''
+* Serge Noiret: "La "nuova storiografia digitale" negli Stati Uniti, (1999-2004)." in ''Memoria e Ricerca'', n.18, January–April 2005, pp.169-185, URL: [http://www.fondazionecasadioriani.it/modules.php?name=MR&op=body&id=339].
-'''Letters and Diaries''':
+* Serge Noiret: "Y a t-il une Histoire Numérique 2.0 ?" in ''Les historiens et l'informatique. Un métier à réinventer'', edited by [[Jean-Philippe Genet]] and Andrea Zorzi, Rome: Ecole Française de Rome, 2011.
-The letters and diaries are personal letters and diaries that have been typed onto the website and provide firsthand opinions of the communities going through Civil War. There are letters from families and soldiers as well as important politicians. These can also be searched by keywords, date, or subject. These letters truly make the time period come alive and provide new perspectives.
-'''Images''':
-Images of the Civil War are available with search options for battlefield, soldier’s name, and subjects. There are topics and ideas to begin with.
-Overall, this site has an extensive source of first hand information from letters, diaries, and newspapers, in addition to objective information from censuses and statistics as well as war records. The Valley of the Shadows project is a great start to beginning to understand the personal side of the nations shared history.
-==References==
-* Alkalimat, Abdul, ''The African American Experience in Cyberspace: A Resource Guide to the Best Web Sites on Black Culture and History''
 ==External links==
-* [http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/ The Valley of the Shadow website]
+* [http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/ The Valley of the Shadow - original website]
+* [https://valley.newamericanhistory.org/ The Valley of the Shadow - updated website]
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley of the Shadow, The}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley Of The Shadow, The}}
+[[Category:Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing]]
 [[Category:Information technology projects]]
 [[Category:Virginia in the American Civil War]]
 [[Category:Pennsylvania in the American Civil War]]
-[[Category:History websites]]
+[[Category:History websites of the United States]]
 [[Category:University of Virginia]]
 [[Category:Chambersburg, Pennsylvania]]
-[[Category:American websites]]
+[[Category:Digital history projects]]
+[[Category:Digital humanities projects]]