“Woe Be to Those Who Laugh at His Death”
War Department clerk and former army captain Edward C. Townsend was overcome with emotion after news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln reached him. “Never before did I shed tears
Tag: carte de visite
Capturing Elmira: The photographers who documented a Northern prisoner of war camp
By Richard Leisenring, Jr., adapted from his forthcoming book Elmira. The name is as recognizable to any novice Civil War historian as Gettysburg, Appomattox, or Andersonville. Over the years, books
Collector and Mentor: Seven decades after he began his Civil War journey, Karl Sundstrom continues to inspire
Introduction by Austin Sundstrom, with images from his Uncle Karl’s collection Some of my earliest memories of my uncle, Karl Sundstrom, revolve around visiting his house in the town just
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
A Sanitary Fair Memento Recalls a Company of St. Louis Defenders
Love of country dominates this portrait of a young woman who posed for this photograph during the Civil War. An analysis of this image points to her being a volunteer
Wounded Warriors: Slings, crutches, and missing limbs are emblems of personal loss and patriotic sacrifice
The sight of a man missing an arm or leg rarely occurred before the Civil War, observed a newspaper editorial in the Confederate capital during the waning days of the
Cruising the Potomac and Elsewhere with Brig. Gen. John P. Slough’s Brigade Band
By Ronald S. Coddington, with images from the Mark Jones Collection On an April day in 1864, in a field near Alexandria, Va., thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered to
Winslow Homer’s Use of Portrait Photographs In Civil War Era Illustrations: A sketch of Gen. Montgomery Meigs provides insights into the artist’s work
By Rick and Victoria Britton This sketch connects two prominent individuals of the Civil War era: Union Quartermaster Gen. Montgomery Meigs, who one author called “possibly the most important bureaucrat
Turning the Tables at Laurel Hill
By Scott Valentine First Lt. and Acting Adjutant Orett Lyman Munger and his comrades in the 44th New York Infantry rushed to capture, along with the rest of 5th Corps,
Campaign Tableau?
A Confederate captain, carrying a holstered sidearm, sits on a crude chair and table fashioned from a tree trunk. Part of the trunk is artfully placed on top of the