Friday, February 28, 2014

Battle of Tel el-Ful Mass Grave

British soldiers pose next to a mass grave for Ottoman soldiers killed during the Battle of Tel el-Ful, near Jerusalem, Palestine, 1917. Today the area is known as Gibeah. Animated stereoview.

Union Soldiers Returning Home


A large crowd attending an event welcoming Union soldiers home, Philadelphia, 1865. The main stand for where the most prominent attendees sit is the structure in the background festooned with flags. The banner in the background contains the names of the battles the soldiers fought in including the battles of Seven Pines, Bull Run, Antietam, Malvern Hill, and Mobile Bay. Animated stereoview.

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Union Picket in Front of Atlanta


Union soldiers manning a picket line in front of Atlanta, 1864.

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Union Zouaves Posing in Camp at Fort Monroe (1861)


A group of Union Zouaves in camp posing in camp at Fort Monroe, Virginia, 1861. By George Stacy. Animated stereoview.

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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Distant View of the USS New Ironsides Firing at Confederate-Held Fort Sumter or Fort Moultrie From Just Off Morris Island, South Carolina (1863)

The full photograph.
Close-up of the scene.

Close-up of spectators and the Union ironclads behind them.

Close-up of the USS New Ironsides firing.
Distant view of the USS New Ironsides (right) and other Union ironclads firing at Confederate-held Fort Sumter or Fort Moultrie from just off Morris Island as a large number of spectators on the beach watch the action, 1863. By Haas and Peale.


Profile view of the USS New Ironsides (center) leaving Hampton Roads for North Carolina. Source.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Two Views of the Great Sumter Rally in Union Square, New York City (1861)

Animated stereoview of the crowd in Union Square during the Great Sumter Rally. Source.

View taken after the end of the event after much of the crowd had dispersed. From Miller's Photographic History of the Civil War.

Two photographs of a large crowd of people in a gathering to show support for the preservation of the Union after the fall of Fort Sumter in Union Square, New York City, 1861. Around 100,000 people were said to have attended the event which would have made it the largest gathering of people held in the United States up to that point. It succeeded in raising money and enlisting soldiers for the early Union Army and was credited with helping to defend Washington, D.C., in the early months of the war. The event has variety of different names including "The Great Union Meeting," "The Great Mass Meeting," and the "Great Sumter Rally."

More information.
Original New York Times Article

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Distant Glimpse of the Second Battle of Fredericksburg in Progress (1863)


Three men in a tree on Stafford Heights watching distant fighting on Marye’s Heights during the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, 1863. Smoke from the battle is possibly visible in the distance which would make it one of the earliest combat photographs of a land battle. The destroyed railroad bridge over the Rappahannock River is in the middle ground of the photo.

Photograph is from the National Park Service via the Western Reserve Historical Society, which seems to have a large collection of previously unpublished American Civil War photographs. The photograph was discovered by Bob Zeller, the president of the Center for Civil War Photography.

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Mosby's Rangers

John S. Mosby (sitting in center with legs crossed) posing with some of his men in a studio, possibly postwar.
John S. Mosby standing (center) posing with a group of his men in a studio, possibly postwar, c. 1865.
Five members of Mosby's Rangers, possibly postwar, c. 1865.
16-year-old Sergeant William T. Biedler of Mosby's Rangers, c. 1863.
Four photographs of members of Mosby's Rangers, the first two including Mosby himself. Said to be taken between 1863 and 1865. Locations unknown.

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Captured Confederate Flags


Union soldiers posing with Confederate flags that they captured in battle, each of whom was awarded a Medal of Honor for the feat, 1865. General John Gibbon, at center with his left hand on his belt, was in charge of transporting them to Washington, DC. Photograph is said to portray the 14 Medal of Honor recipients from the Battle of Fort Gregg during the Siege of Petersburg. Probably taken after Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Possibly the first photograph taken of soldiers with flags that they had captured in battle, a phenomenon that would become very popular in 20th century wars.

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Union Zouaves of the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment Standing at Attention in Fort Monroe (1861)


Union Zouaves from Company E of the 5th Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry standing at attention in camp at Fort Monroe, Virginia, 1861. By George Stacy. Animated stereoview.

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Monday, February 17, 2014

A Derailed Locomotive


A group of people posing with a derailed locomotive. Said to be taken in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Date unknown, c. 1860's-1880's. Animated stereoview.

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Another photograph from the crash.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Staged Hospital Scene of Union Surgeons Performing a Leg Amputation in Camp at Fort Monroe, Virginia (1861)



Staged scene in a Union field hospital of Zouave surgeons performing a leg amputation as a group of their comrades watch at Fort Monroe, Virginia, 1861. By George Stacy. Animated stereoview.

Two Views of Union Soldiers Posing With an Armored Railroad Battery Used During the Siege of Petersburg



Two views of Union soldiers posing with an armored railroad battery used during the Siege of Petersburg, c. 1865. Animated stereoscopic photographs.

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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Dutch Gap Canal Combat Photograph

Before (left) and after (right) the Confederate shell exploded.

The negative version of the left photograph (before the shell exploded). The smoke coming from a fire in the shelter built into the canal in the background is obviously different from the smoke said to be coming from the exploded Confederate shell.

Animated stereoscopic view which looks like it was taken during the same photo shoot as the other two photographs.
An image taken during the Dutch Gap Canal photographic sequence was possibly the first combat photograph to be taken during fighting on land (top right). According to the stereocard it was released on: “The mist rising against the bank is caused by a rebel shell, which exploded just as this view was being photographed, December, 1864.” Unfortunately, this is the best quality image of the photograph so far released online. The CCWP web post says that Union soldiers can be seen moving away from the smoke in the background to the right, inferring that they are escaping the shell explosion. It appears they are emerging from digging in a deeper section of the canal. The officer in the right foreground is said to look quite unfazed by the whole ordeal, merely turning his head towards the commotion. The image said to be taken right before the shell exploded is on the top left and a better resolution version is below it. . The animated stereoview photograph at the bottom looks like it was taken during the same photo shoot as the other two and portrays the same main subjects but from a greater distance away. Possibly taken by A.J. Russell.

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View of Union Soldiers Drawn up to to Watch an Execution Near Petersburg, Virginia (1864)

Photograph from right half of the stereoscopic pair.

Photograph from left half of the stereoscopic pair.

A regiment of Union soldiers drawn up to watch an execution of an unknown individual or individuals, near Petersburg, Virginia, August 1864. Two recently dug graves can be seen to the right of the gallows presumably for the people about to be executed. Even though it was captured as a stereoscopic image, the photograph was taken at too extreme of a distance to show anything interesting when animated. By John Reekie.

Image source.
More information.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Church of the Nativity

French and British soldiers standing guard in front of the Church of the Nativity, Jerusalem, c. 1918. Animated stereoview.

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Saturday, February 8, 2014

Animated Stereoviews of Destruction in Fort Sumter Taken Shortly After the Union Surrender (1861)

A group of men cleaning up a section of Fort Sumter after the surrender.

The flagpole which was cut down by Confederate artillery fire during the bombardment of Fort Sumter. A group of men can be seen cleaning up rubble in the background.

A row of artillery pieces in a casemate in the interior Fort Sumter.

Shell damage to an exterior brick wall of Fort Sumter.

Views of the damaged interior and exterior of Fort Sumter shortly after its surrender by Union forces in 1861. By Osborn and Durbec. Animated stereoviews.

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Osborn & Durbec
Osborn & Durbec

Thursday, February 6, 2014

A Film-Like Photographic Sequence and Stereoscopic Views of a Union Camp From One Plate

Animated photographic sequence.

Animated stereoscopic view of the top photographs.

Animated stereoscopic view of the bottom photographs.

Original photographic plate.
A rare four photograph stereoscopic plate taken of Union soldiers in camp which is probably a Sanitary Commission camp in Virginia, c. 1864. Each photograph was taken seconds apart which allows the photos to be viewed in a film-like photographic sequence as seen in the first animation. It also allows the photographs to be viewed as animated stereoscopic images, which can be seen in the second and third animations.

Animations of stereoscopic images from four-photograph plates sadly do not seem to come out as well as those of the standard two-photograph stereoscopic plates. Distortions seem to be present that prevent this perhaps because photographers never perfected using the four photograph plates or else it was simply too impractical.

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

View of President Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Procession on Broadway Entering Union Square in New York City (1865)


View of President Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession on Broadway entering Union Square in New York City, April 1865. The house on the left of the second photograph is where a young Teddy Roosevelt can be seen in a window (just out of frame here) of another photograph which was taken from the same position. Animated stereoview.

Source.
Teddy Roosevelt photograph article link.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Union Picket Line Taking Cover Behind Gabion Defenses in Front of Fort Mahone, Virginia (1865)





Union soldiers posing as if fighting from behind gabion defenses in front of Fort Mahone, April 1865. Probably taken after the fighting considering the line of soldiers standing in line out in the open in the background in two of the photographs. Animated stereoscopic photographs.

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Union Soldiers Playing Ball in Camp

Union soldiers of the 13th New York Heavy Artillery playing a ball game in camp, near Petersburg, c. 1865.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Union Army Balloon Corps

Thaddeus Lowe and members of the Union Army Balloon Corps with a balloon named Intrepid, Gaines’ Mill, Virginia, 1862. The man sitting at the table in front of it is operating a telegraph machine.

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Two Portraits of the Color Guard of the 7th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment Posing With Their Flags and Henry Repeating Rifles



Two portraits of Union soldiers from the color guard of the 7th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment posing with their flags and Henry repeating rifles. The rifles could be fired at a rate of 28 rounds per minute.

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