In the past several years, scholars have conducted a great deal of valuable research about different aspects of the Civil War, enriching our contemporary understanding of this conflict. This wealth of scholarship can, at times, feel overwhelming to students. The Essential Civil War Curriculum, an ongoing project of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech functions as an easily navigable and highly informative encyclopedia and resource list. Visitors can browse this website by a multitude of topics (e.g. The Civil War in Film; Experience of Battle; Slave Narratives and the Civil War), which are catalogued alphabetically. In each topic, visitors will find a concise yet thorough essay on the topic, authored by a Civil War scholar, that can be easily downloaded for classroom use. In addition, each topic includes an extensive list of related Books, Organizations, and Online Resources. General resources about the Civil War may be found in the Resources section. The clarity and breadth of information on this site will make it a welcome classroom resource and an especially useful tool for helping students select research topics.