Prince Rivers and the Post-Civil War South Carolina Legislature
By Stephen Berry and Kurt Luther Prince Rivers (c. 1822-1887) was born enslaved in South Carolina and worked as a coachman before escaping to Union lines in 1862. He became
Category: Photo Sleuth
A Trio of USCT Group Portraits Identified
By Kurt Luther and Bryan Cheeseboro Group portraits of U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), like all photos of USCT, are rare, and identifying their subjects rarer still. Back in 2015, this
Legends and Lies in Female Soldier Portraits
By Kurt Luther Historians estimate that at least 400 women presented themselves as men and fought in the Civil War, on both sides of the conflict. Verified period portraits of
Finding the Identities of a Mystery Civil War Couple
By Kurt Luther Portraits of Civil War couples have long captivated me. They capture a fleeting moment of togetherness, a quiet counterpoint to the distant bugles and battles. We see
A Guide to Exploring Photo Sleuthing and Generative AI
By Kurt Luther Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere lately–in the news, on our phones, in schools and workplaces. Civil War photo sleuthing is no exception. AI has been
Mistaken Identity and Fame Fixation
By Kurt Luther Ann Shumard, Senior Curator of Photographs at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, reached out to me with a question about a possible misidentification. A glass plate negative
Applying the “Trinity” to ID Some Faces in a 557-Image Album in the National Archives
By Kurt Luther Civil War photo sleuthing is more than just giving a name to an unidentified soldier or sailor portrait. While a name is a critical clue in rediscovering
Identifying a USCT Officer Connected to Two Pioneering Civil War Women
By Kurt Luther When MI Senior Editor Rick Carlile approached me to help identify a carte de visite of a seemingly unremarkable Union officer, I did not expect that this
How to Discover Soldier Photos from a Specific Civil War Battle
By Kurt Luther How can we find photos of Civil War soldiers connected to a particular battle? Earlier this summer, I was confronted with this question when Emma Nostheide, a
Oscar F. Douglas: The Photographer Behind the Iconic USCT Drummer Boy
By Kurt Luther The pair of cartes de visite of a young African American boy transformed from a runaway slave into a Union drummer boy are among the most memorable