american civil war

Minie Ball - National Parks Gallery

The advent of the Minie ball changed warfare in the 19th century. Rifled muskets existed as far back as the 1500s, but they were time-consuming to load, as the only available ammunition was a round lead ball. T... More

The guitar / D.G. Johnson, sc. - Engraving, Public domain image

Print shows a woman playing guitar as a man flirts with her. In album: [Album of ephemera and Civil War era photographs; photos and album compiled by Larkin Goldsmith Mead], page 2. Library of Congress copy i... More

United States slave trade, 1830 - Public domain portrait engraving

An abolitionist print possibly engraved in 1830, but undocumented aside from the letterpress text which appears on an accompanying sheet. The text reads: "United States' slave trade, 1830. The Copper Plate from... More

Henrico County, Virginia / Historic map, Library of Congress

Relief shown by hachures. Title and statement of responsibility in manuscript above bar scale. Annotated in ink: Smith's map of Henrico County, Virginia, from actual surveys by James Keily, Richmond, Robert P. ... More

Paris, New York & Philadelphia fashions for spring & summer 1855, publ...

Print shows in two horizontal panels, at top, men, a woman, and two children standing in a large drawing room, and at bottom, men, a woman, and two children standing outdoors on a street at seaside. At bottom c... More

Picking cotton on a Georgia plantation

Negro slaves. Illus. in: Ballou's Pictorial, v. 14, 1858, p. 49. Ref. copy may be in P&P - A Pictorial History of Blackamericans - E185.H83 1973, p. 16. This record contains unverified data from caption card. C... More

[Sketches of portions of Madison County, Va.].

Shows names of some residents. Relief shown by hachures. Title, date, and scale derived from Stephenson's Civil War maps, 1989. Pencil (some col.) on irregularly shaped sheet of ledger paper, mounted between sh... More

Stuart, C.S.A, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative.

Title from unverified information on negative sleeve. Credit line: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. General information about Civil war photographs is avai... More

White House, earliest [sic] known view (made in 1860's)

Public domain photograph of American Civil War era building, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

A.H. White, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative.

Title from unverified information on negative sleeve. Annotation from negative, scratched on emulsion: 1108. Credit line: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. ... More

Mrs. J.B. Baldwin. American Civil War. Mathew Brady Glass Negative.

Original Caption: Mrs. J.B. Baldwin..U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 111-B-2263..From:: Series: Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, (Record Group 111)..Photographer: B... More

Mrs. Shropshire. American Civil War. Mathew Brady Glass Negative.

Original Caption: Mrs. Shropshire..U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 111-B-2272..From:: Series: Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, (Record Group 111)..Photographer: Bra... More

Gen. F.J. Herron, U.S.A., American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negativ...

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Lt. J.W. Bogert, 7th NYSM, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negati...

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Mrs. Kohler. American Civil War. Mathew Brady Glass Negative.

Original Caption: Mrs. Kohler..U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 111-B-2268..From:: Series: Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, (Record Group 111)..Photographer: Brady, ... More

Col. Thomas S. Mather, 2nd Ill. Light Artillery

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Capt. Alexander Mosely. Pennock, U.S.N., American Civil War Photograph...

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Lady. Female portrait of American Civil War time by Mathew Brady.

Original Caption: Lady..U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 111-B-1660..From:: Series: Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, (Record Group 111)..Photographer: Brady, Mathew,... More

[Map of portions of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland, centering o...

Shows roads in red, and railroads, place names, etc. in black. Relief shown by hachures. Date from Stephenson's Civil War maps, 1989. Title derived from Stephenson's Civil War maps, 1989. Following the statemen... More

Brig. Gen. John Riggin, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative.

Title from unverified information on negative sleeve. Corresponding print is in LOT 4192. Credit line: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. General information... More

Lines of Entrenchment for defence of Camps at City Point, Va., as laid...

Civil War

Gen. U.S. Grant, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative.

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Mrs. Stuart. American Civil War. Mathew Brady Glass Negative.

Original Caption: Mrs. Stuart..U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 111-B-1744..From:: Series: Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, (Record Group 111)..Photographer: Brady, ... More

R.S. Ewell, C.S.A, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative.

Title from unverified information on negative sleeve. Credit line: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. General information about Civil war photographs is avai... More

Wade Hampton, C.S.A., American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative.

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Gen. John White Geary, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative.

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Civil War View] - Early photography, Public domain image

The albumen silver print is a photographic printing process that was widely used in the 19th century. It involves coating paper support with a mixture of egg whites and salt, which creates a glossy surface to h... More

[Map of Hanover County, Va.]. - Public domain old map

LC Land ownership maps, 1272 Relief shown by hachures. Shows the names of some residents. Date, title, and scale from Stephenson's Civil War maps, 1989. LC Civil War maps (2nd ed.), H37 Pen-and-ink on tracing l... More

Portrait of boy soldier. American Civil War 1861-1865.

Forms part of Selected Civil War photographs, 1861-1865 (Library of Congress) Copy photo made by LC in 1961 of carte de visite. Credit: Elsie G. Redman. Formerly in Civil War Reference File. American Memory edi... More

Co. K, 6th Vermont Infantry - Camp Griffin, Va.

No. 4126. Hand written on verso: "Miller, vol. 8, p. 64 - 65". Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway; 1948.

Ruins of bridge, across Potomac River at Shepherdstown

Photograph shows a man in the foreground overlooking the ruins of the bridge at Shepherdstown, West Virginia. No. 5077. Mounted with five other photographs. Photograph is half of a stereograph pair. Gift; Col.... More

Major Anderson cigars., Confederate States of America

LOT subdivision subject: War, 1861-1865 (Civil War. Generals, Union and Confederate) Title and other information transcribed from caption card. Woodcut by Calkins & Goodwin.

The Mississippi River Fleet at Mound City, Illinois

No. 3132. Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway; 1948. The albumen silver print is a photographic printing process that was widely used in the 19th century. It involves coating paper support with a mixture of egg whites a... More

Brady's incidents of the war. (Fort Richardson Va.) Camp 1st. Conn Art...

Photograph shows Union soldiers with cannons in an artillery bunker at Fort Richardson, Arlington, Virginia. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1861 by M.B. Brady, in the Clerks Office of the Dis... More

[Civil War envelope showing eagle and American flags atop an arch list...

Addressed to Rev. C. L. Ehrenfeld, Altoona, Pa.; postmarked Johnstown, Pa.; bears 3 cent stamp. Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2010; (DLC/PP-2010:105). Forms part of: Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photogr... More

[Photograph of Walter G. Jones, Pvt., 8th New York Cavalry, Co. C., U....

Information from caption card. Copy photo made by LC in 1961 from unidentified source. Forms part of: Civil War Photograph Collection (Library of Congress).

[Civil War envelope showing Columbia with American flag bearing messag...

Addressed to Mrs. Ruthann Smith, Northridgeway, Orleans, C.C., N.Y.; postmarked; bears 3 cent stamp. Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2010; (DLC/PP-2010:105). pp/liljmem

Ellsworth. Memorial Col. E.E. Ellsworth, the patriot martyr. The Marsh...

Photographs show Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of Field and Staff, 11th New York Infantry Regiment; Marshall House at the corner of King and Pitt Streets, Alexandria, Virginia, the scene of the assassination of Col. ... More

[Corporal John Morton Booker of Co. I, 23rd Virginia Infantry Regiment...

Photograph shows identified. Case: Leather; scroll design. Formerly identified as Corporal John Morton Booker of Co. I, 23rd Virginia Infantry Regiment. Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2014; (DLC/PP 2014:202) More info... More

[Unidentified soldier in New Hampshire uniform and Co. D Whipple hat w...

Picryl description: Public domain image of an American Civil War, military forces and conflict, officer, uniform, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

Contrabands Aboard U.S. Ship Vermont, Port Royal, South Carolina

Picryl description: Public domain vintage artistic photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

[Unidentified soldier in Union uniform and Hardee hat]

Case: Rinhart, no. 68. Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2015; (DLC/PP-2015:180) More information about this collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.lilj Purchased from: Macrafly, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2014... More

[Civil War envelope showing eagle holding American flag in talons with...

Picryl description: Public domain image of an American Civil War, military forces and conflict, officer, uniform, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

[James W. Millner of Company K, 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment with b...

Photograph shows identified soldier, James W. Millner, who enlisted in Company K, 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment, as a sergeant; knife he carries may have been manufactured by Boyle & Gamble or Burger & Burger... More

[Six Union musicians of the 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment relaxing at ...

In album: [Album of ephemera and Civil War era photographs; photos and album compiled by Larkin Goldsmith Mead], loose photo no. L6. Attribution of G.H. Houghton as photographer from "A very fine appearance" : ... More

[Sergeant A.M. Chandler of the 44th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, Co....

Photograph shows identified Confederate soldier, A.M. Chandler, and identified slave, Silas Chandler, who accompanied two Chandler brothers during their military service in the Civil War. For more information, ... More

Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C.

No. 5215. Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway; 1948. The albumen silver print is a photographic printing process that was widely used in the 19th century. It involves coating paper support with a mixture of egg whites a... More

[Sabria Clack with cased photograph of her husband, Private W.R. Clack...

Sabria Caroline Newport Clack identified by descendant Edna Sachs, June 2013. Case: Berg, no. 5-10G (variant). Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2012; (DLC/PP-2012:127). More information about this collection is availabl... More

Panorama of the seat of war. Birds eye view of Virginia, Maryland, Del...

Shows various Civil War fortifications (battle sites noted by crossed swords) and smoke over Manassas (Bull Run) vicinity. Oriented with north to the right. Available also through the Library of Congress Web si... More

[Envelope showing Confederate flag, addressed to Miss Lou Taylor, No. ...

[Petersburg, Virginia. Group of Federal generals: Winfield Scott Hanco...

Picryl description: Public domain historical photo, American history, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

[A.(?) Greenwall, Confederate Army officer, full-length portrait, faci...

Written on recto: Gen. Greenwall; written on verso: Col.[?] Greenwall. Photograph from an original negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. Soldier's first name and regiment from Civil War Mysteries & Mo... More

Dead on Little Round Top, Gettysburg

Copyright J224991 Aug. 16, 1917. Embossed on image: White Studio, Hanover, Pa. Possibly a copy photograph made from an albumen print of a Brady negative.

Charleston, South Carolina: The orphan asylum, [facade]

Civil War Photograph Collection (Library of Congress). No. 3423. Public domain photograph - United States during American Civil War, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Map of Grant County, Indiana / - Public domain old map

LC Land ownership maps, 147 Includes 1860 population table, business directories, list of county officers, views of public, residential, and commercial buildings. Insets: Map of Marion -- Map of Jonesboro -- Fa... More

[Civil War envelope showing two American flags tied with a ribbon]

Addressed to Mr. George B. Hale, Clinton S[t.?], New Jersey; bears 3 cent stamp; postmarked Washington, D.C. Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2010; (DLC/PP-2010:105). Forms part of: Liljenquist Family Collection of Civi... More

General George H. Thomas (?) and staff

Title devised by Library staff based on information received from Mike Serpa, January 2016. Formerly identified as General George H. Thomas (?) and staff.

Maj. General George H. Thomas - Public domain historical image

No. 5866. Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway; 1948. The albumen silver print is a photographic printing process that was widely used in the 19th century. It involves coating paper support with a mixture of egg whites a... More

U.S. Grant / Engd. by J.C. Buttre.

Print shows Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, half-length portrait, facing front.

A Rebel guerrilla raid in a western town / Th. Nast.

Print shows a raid on a western town by a group of Confederate guerrillas who are abusing and executing the citizens, destroying property, and stealing whatever they can carry away. Illus. from: Harper's weekl... More

Sketch showing route of the Burnside expedition [to Roanoke Island, N....

Scale not given. LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed.), 317.12 From U.S. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. Supplemental report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, in two volumes. Suppleme... More

Elk Mountain, Maryland. Signal tower overlooking Antietam battlefield

Public domain historical photo, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Seaman Ebenezer McKay of U.S. Navy in uniform]

Photo shows identified sailor. Case: Leather; urn and scroll design. Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2012; (DLC/PP-2012:127). More information about this collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.lilj Fo... More

[B]alloon view of the attack on Fort Darling in the James River, by Co...

Not drawn to scale. LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed.), 541.2 From Harper's weekly, v. 6, May 31, 1862. p. [337] This view was acquired by the Library of Congress in 1948 with the purchase of the papers and maps of Ma... More

The Wreck of the Iron-clad "MONITOR"

Public domain scan of a print with maritime landscape, ship in the harbor, sea, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Map of the field of operations in Virginia and Battle of Mine Run, dur...

Includes areas of Orange and Culpeper counties, Va., where Meade approached the Rapidan River and the Mine Run Valley to try and push Lee's forces unsuccessfully back towards Richmond in the Mine Run Campaign o... More

Map of the battle field of Gettysburg. [July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 1863].

[Scale 1:15,840]. LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed.), 340 Another edition From Jacobs, Michael. Notes on the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania . . . Philadelphia, [1888?] Revised edition of the preceding map inclu... More

Wheat–Field in Which General Reynolds Was Shot

The albumen silver print is a photographic printing process that was widely used in the 19th century. It involves coating paper support with a mixture of egg whites and salt, which creates a glossy surface t... More

Sergeant Alex Rogers with Battle Flag, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volun...

Picryl description: Public domain image of 17th, 18th, 19th-century military units, army, war, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

General Hospital, Gettysburg, August, 1863

Photograph shows a group of tents that are a part of the hospital at Camp Letterman in Gettysburg.

Gettysburg and vicinity. Constructed and engraved to illustrate "The w...

Public domain scan of a vintage map, plan, atlas, free to use, no copyright restrictions - Picryl description.

Confederate prisoners captured at the battle of Fisher's Hill, VA. Sen...

Devised title based on information from: The Image of war, 1861-1865, vol. 2, page 338 and National Archives photograph 111-B-497. Erroneous title on item: Confederate prisoners captured at the battle of Fisher... More

[Sojourner Truth, three-quarter length portrait, standing, wearing spe...

Caption: I sell the shadow to support the substance. Sojourner Truth. Original carte de visite portrait is in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Sojourner Truth Collection (MMC). Manuscript Division c... More

Sumpter Prison, Andersonville, Georgia, June 1864

Shows the prison with wooden fence, 18 guard towers, the famous "deadline," the north and south gates, Sweetwater Creek, "Valley of Death," fortification, batteries, and cook house. He depicts overcrowding by a... More

Yeager, Isaac - Age 19, Year: 1864 - Miscellaneous Card Abstracts of R...

Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War

Richmond, Virginia. Group of Negroes ("Freedmen") by canal

Public domain historical photo, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Bingham and Dodd portrait of Lincoln.]

Facsimile of Lincoln's signature at bottom. Public domain image related to President Abraham Lincoln, gelatin silver print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Richmond, Virginia. Tredegar Iron Works - 19th century Virginia.

Photographer: Alex. Gardner. Title from Civil War caption books. Caption from negative sleeve: Richmond, VA, Tredegar Iron Works. File print in LOT 4162-F. Credit line: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library... More

[President Abraham Lincoln, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front]

Public domain image related to President Abraham Lincoln, gelatin silver print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Gettysburg camp of Captain Huft]

Men gathered at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for the laying of the cornerstone of the Soldier's National Monument on the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, men on left are preparing food.

General Robert E. Lee - Public domain historical image

Public domain image of a male portrait, free to use, no copyright restrictions - Picryl description

[Full page of advertisements and a political cartoon "Preparing for th...

[President Ulysses S. Grant, half-length portrait, seated, facing righ...

Brady-Handy Collection (Library of Congress). LC-BH826-3703. Public domain photograph related to President Ulysses Grant, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Anthony's stereoscopic views. No. 1471, Three drummer boys (now at Ft....

Stereograph shows three drummer boys posed, standing in front of a building, the boy on the left is carrying a drum. No. 1471. (DLC/PP-2012:069.10)

Skyline Drive - Portrait of Belle Boyd

The original finding aid described this photograph as: Original Caption: Belle Boyd, a spy for the Confederates during the Civil War, poses for a portrait after the war. Status: Public domain. Photo provided ... More

New York City - Medical College for Women, East Twelfth Street and Sec...

Class. Illus. in: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, (1870), p. 72. Reference copy may be in LOT 4399. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: NY NYC ; Shelf.

[Head-and-shoulders portrait of Frederick Douglass]

Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[The cannon drill on the Imperial Ironclad Frigate Hamidiye] / Constan...

Title translated from album caption. Captioned in Ottoman Turkish and French. No. 11. No. 595. In album: Imperial frigates and naval personnel, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. Forms part of: Abdul-Hamid II Collection... More

Gen. Fitzhugh Lee C.S.A, American Civil War Photograph, Glass Negative...

Photograph shows Confederate cavalry general Fitzhugh Lee, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left. Title from negative sleeve. On negative: 2661. Copy of photograph. Credit line: Civil war photographs, 1861-1... More

Puck's plan to relieve the country of two embarrassments - give Grant ...

Illustration shows Ulysses S. Grant as a king sitting on a throne, surrounded by his courtiers, identified as Rev. J.P. Newman, Henry Ward Beecher, Roscoe Conkling, Jay Gould, George W. Childs, William Belknap,... More

[Abraham Lincoln, presidential candidate, half-length portrait, facing...

Photo of Lincoln made from a negative taken in Springfield, Illinois, by Alexander Hesler on June 3, 1860. One of several poses from that day. "Wrote Lincoln's law partner, William H. Herndon, 'There is the pec... More

U.S.S. Hartford, forecastle - Public domain image. Dry plate negative.

Picryl description: Public domain image of a ship in the sea, harbor, maritime, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

[Albion Hotel and Confederate Monument, Augusta, Ga.]

Picryl description: Public domain image of a department store, commercial building, downtown, shopping center, 19th-20th century, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

[Pensacola, Fla., Confederate Monument], Confederate States of America

Public domain photograph related to Confederate States of America, American Civil War, 19th century, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Abraham Lincoln, seated next to small table, in a reflective pose, Ma...

Copy of a photograph taken in 1861 at Mathew Brady's studio in Washington, D.C. Attribution to Brady and date from Looking for Lincoln: the making of an American icon / Philip B. Kunhardt, III. New York: Alfre... More

Huguenot Church, Charleston, S.C.

Public domain photo of a monument, historic place, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Three-quarter length portrait of Presidenet Abraham Lincoln standing]

Illus. in: The Photographs of Abraham Lincoln / Frederick Hill Meserve. New York, Privately printed, 1911, p. 78. Ostendorf, no. 86 B Meserve, no. 76 Published in: Lincoln's photographs: a complete album / by ... More

C. D. Two hearts finally united.

Motion picture poster for "C.D." shows a woman interacting with a man in a Civil War uniform. An older man sits in front of them at a telegraph. "A Civil War drama." "Through me the spy escaped!"

Map of the battlefield of Gettysburg from original surveys by the engi...

Scale ca. 1:8450. LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed.), 351.55 Another edition. The map was redrawn for this edition. Description derived from published bibliography. Available also through the Library of Congress web s... More

Gen. Godfrey Weitzel and staff of fifteen, recognized -- Lt. George W....

Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes Public domain photograph - United States military, propaganda free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description