A cartoon from the Civil War era. (Photo provided by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania)

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – On April 12th, to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will display important documents from that time.

Dr. Dan Rolph, Civil War expert and author, points out Fourney’s War Press, a newspaper published in Philadelphia that contained news from Civil War correspondents and casualty reports.  Fourney’s War Press is just part of the collection, one of the largest and most impressive in the country.

Dr. Rolph said there’s a reason for that, “The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, right at the end of the war, already began to collect Civil War memorabilia.  They recognized that the Civil War was going to be very important to historians and the general public in the years to come.”

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Letters, diaries, engravings, posters and even currency will be shown on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the society at 13th and Locust.  You can pay what you want for admission.

Reported by Karin Phillips, KYW Newsradio 1060