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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