Reflections on Generative AI
The emerging genre of historic photographs brought to life through AI touched me personally when an image in my collection appeared on the YouTube channel History in Motion. I watched
Tag: Civil War photography
“By Whose Orders?”
By Evan Phifer When the Civil War broke out, John Barclay Fassett volunteered as a private in the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry for three months in 1861. Soon afterwards,
Riders Above the Clouds
By Phil Spaugy “We had our photograph taken on one plate on Point Lookout” so wrote Corp. William Thomas in his diary on August 29, 1864. This view of 28
Civil War Portraits: Union and Confederate Soldiers, a Sailor, and an Indiana Quartermaster at Point Lookout
Western campaigners, one wearing an identification badge and another with a cigar, posed in Kentucky towards the war’s end. A U.S. sailor of Asian heritage posed for his likeness in
Summer 2025 Issue Highlights
Cover stories surface in different ways. When the reveal themselves, it is unexpected and joyful. The image and story that leads are Summer 2025 issue is no exception. I was
The Enduring Emotional Power of Civil War Portrait Photographs
I’ve heard from a number of you about the cover story in our last issue, “Wounded Warriors.” The gist of the comments: Seeing soldiers and sailors with amputated limbs brought
“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
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
“‘Died at Gettysburg!’ No Prouder Epitaph Need Any Man Covet.”: The Tragedy of Capt. Richard Wistar Davids of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry
By Charles T. Joyce Visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park encounter stone sentinels of all shapes and sizes. One of them, an austere granite marker on the north side
Identifying Navy Images from the U.S. and Britain
By Ron Field, featuring images from the author’s collection The United States and British Royal Navy enlisted sailors frequented photographic studios at home and abroad during the American Civil War