Running Away to Join the Magnificent Eleventh
By Scott Valentine Charles Augustus Oliver ran away from home to join the army in the summer of 1862. The 17-year-old son of a patriotic New Jersey family slipped away
Recent Stories
Unidentified Civil War Soldiers from Virginia, Mississippi and New York
The Virginia seal on the belt buckle of this soldier leaves no doubt about his state affiliation. The blade of his sword appears to be a Model 1840-foot officer type.
Soldier and Printer
An admirer of Eli F. Chittenden summarized his professional life as a printer and editor this way: “He was in love with the business and never was contented when not
The Summer 2022 issue
I am pleased to share the Summer 2022 issue of Military Images magazine. The origins of our cover story, “Mississippi Faces,” traces back to more than a year ago when
Can Your Old Photo Become an NFT? Should It?
At the recent Ohio Civil War Show, an attendee asked my opinion about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Civil War photographs. This query has come up before, sometimes jokingly, but in
Photo Survey: Greater Percentage of Ambrotypes in the South, Cartes in the North
Students of Civil War photography are aware that surviving portraits of U.S. soldiers are much higher in number than their C.S. counterparts. This disparity is explained by the North’s larger
Forget What You Think You Know About the Surrender at Appomattox
By Bill Hendrick Three of my great-grandfathers and at least one great-great grandfather served in Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, but not one of them is on
A New Way to Remember a Civil War Veteran Who Lost His Life Trying to Save History
By Kurt Luther In 2020, the Smithsonian Institution released nearly three million digital images of its collections for the public to download freely and view online. These included more than
An 1840s Selfie?
The braid, ornate collar and cuff embroidery, epaulettes and feathered chapeau worn by this mustachioed officer reminds one of “Old Fuss and Feathers”—Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott. But the identity of
Farragut’s Protector at Mobile Bay
In almost every engraving, lithograph or painting of Rear Adm. David G. Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay, he is lashed with rope to the rigging of his flagship.