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
Tag: Civil War portraits
Marching Order! A glimpse of what federal soldiers looked like as they marched into battle— and into history
By Michael R. Cunningham, Ph.D., featuring images from the Rick Carlile Collection Countless Civil War soldiers sat for photographic portraits to keep their images fresh in the minds of family
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
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
“‘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
Spring 2025 Issue Highlights
Over the last ten years, Military Images has been collecting digital scans of wounded soldiers and sailors from the collecting community—and waiting for the right opportunity to publish. A few
Lightning Strikes Twice
The cover story of our Summer 2024 issue profiled Evander M. Law’s rise to general in the Confederate army. The project began after I met collector Craig Wofford, who shared
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
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
A Painted Camp and Forts Backdrop from Virginia
By Dave Batalo These portraits of Confederate soldiers posed in front of a painted backdrop are normally difficult to locate in a specific state. Such military imagery painted in a