The Source By Michael K. Shaffer
Civil War Photography Last month, we explored several of the printed sources containing photographs from the Civil War. In this installment, we will look at websites, which provide many images as captured through the lenses of some of the period’s most famous photographers—Brady, Gardner, Barnard, and others. Any researcher with access to a computer and the internet can browse these images; most reside in the public domain, and each website featured this month operates free of subscription fees. Please check each site’s term of use before downloading the images! At the end of this column, readers will find a listing of the URLs referenced. Beginning with the Library of Congress (LOC) site, researchers can browse thousands of period images, from daguerreotypes to ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visites, and stereographs. In addition to the various types of photographs, one can view drawings from the sketch artists covering the war. Researchers can download most of the images in either low-res or hi-res formats. A recent addition to the LOC, the Liljenquist Family Collection, offers over 1,300 rare pictures of Federal and Confederate soldiers. New additions
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continue to increase the assortment’s holdings, so check back often! Commemorating the sesquicentennial of the war, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery created a site, ‘Civil War 150,’ which contains over 400 portraits, newspapers, sheet music, sketches, and more. The National Archives Civil War Photos website contains over 200 images. Differing somewhat from other sources this site categorizes the collection as follows: “…activities, places, portraits, and Lincoln’s assassination.” Subclasses further assist researchers. For example, under the ‘Activities’ heading, one will find army life, army units, civilians, medical, railroads, and more. The ‘Places’ section contains battle areas, as well as a Richmond section, along with one on Washington, D.C., and environs. Containing over 1,000 images the Civil War Photos website provides an index, which makes this source useful in quickly locating various photographs. For example, from the homepage, one can click on ‘Atlanta,’ and see 11 shots as George Barnard captured them in 1864. In addition to several other locales in the index, researchers will find artillery
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units and equipment, cavalry units, hospitals, civilians, prisoners, and much more. The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center also provides several images on its website, many of them not available elsewhere. The photographs collected here contain watermarks, so researchers will need to contact the Heritage and Education Center to obtain usage rights. Grab some popcorn, well at least a pair of 3-D glasses, and head over to the Civil War Trust’s website to view a collection of stereographic images! Many photographers during the war captured battlefield scenes using special cameras, which produced stereographic photographs. When viewed through stereoscopes—a popular form of home entertainment in the nineteenth century—distant battlefronts came to life. In cooperation with The Center for Civil War Photography (their helpful website currently undergoes a redesign, so check this source soon) one can view these magnificent images as intended by the photographers. No stereoscope needed, just 3-D glasses; popcorn optional! Next month, we will continue to explore other sources, and please keep suggestions for future ‘The Source’ columns coming. Send them to the email address shown below. Merry Christmas, and good luck in researching the Civil War! Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, and instructor, who remains a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at mkscdr11@gmail.com, or to request speaking engagements via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www. facebook.com/michael.k.shaffer and Twitter @michaelkshaffer.
Since 1979, MI has been America’s only publication dedicated to historic photographs of soldiers and sailors.
Library of Congress Civil War Photographs website.
Smithsonian’s Civil War 150 website.
National Archives Civil War Photos website.
Civil War Photos website.
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Civil War Trust 3-D website. Website References: • LOC: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/civwar/ • Liljenquist Family Collection: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/ • Smithsonian’s Civil War 150: http://npg.si.edu/exhibit/cw/npgcivilwar. html • National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/ photos • Civil War Photos: http://www.civilwarphotos.net • U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center: http://cdm16635.contentdm. oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16635coll13 • Civil War Trust: http://www.civilwar.org/photos/3d-photography-special/ • The Center for Civil War Photography (new site under construction): http://www.civilwarphotography.org