Missed the event? Douglass Sizes Up Lincoln: From Fierce Critic to Great Admirer Drawing on speeches and letters by Frederick Douglass, some to British abolitionists that have not been seen since they were first written, the lecture presents an account…
Lincoln at the Library | Dead Letter Office Images: The Civil War’s Lost Sentiments
July 8, 2026
Missed the event?
Dead Letter Office Images: The Civil War’s Lost Sentiments
During the Civil War years, hundreds of thousands of soldiers wrote letters home, many containing card-sized photos of themself. By the end of the conflict, thousands of letters and images remained undelivered at the Dead Letter Office in Washington, D.C. For decades after the war, the employees of the Dead Letter Office went to extraordinary efforts to return these images to a rightful recipient. Melissa Winn shares photos from her collection of Dead Letter Office images and tells the touching story of these interrupted sentiments and the noble efforts by many to send them home.
Lincoln at the Library is sponsored by the Friends of the Allen County Public Library
Melissa A. Winn
Melissa A. Winn is the Director of Marketing and Communications for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Previously, she was the Marketing Manager for the American Battlefield Trust and Director of Photography for HistoryNet, publisher of nine history-related magazines, including America’s Civil War, American History, and Civil War Times.
Melissa is a Senior Editor for Military Images magazine, with a regular column focused on women and the Civil War. She is the editor of Shavings and The Chronicle, the member publications of the Early American Industries Association, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Civil War Roundtable Congress and the Manassas Battlefield Trust; and serves as President of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table.
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2026 Rolland Lecture | Douglass Sizes Up Lincoln: From Fierce Critic to Great Admirer
Linking Lincoln | Sons of Lincoln: Four Boys in a Tumultuous Era
Join us to discover how the four Lincoln sons experienced childhood, family, and legacy against the backdrop of a rapidly changing nation. This free program will be held on Zoom at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, May 20, 2026!