Photographs of African Americans During the Civil War: A List of Images in the Civil War Photograph Collection
About the List: Introduction | Organization
of the List | Compilation
of the List | Content
of Entries | Reproductions
and Rights
Jump to list section: African American
Soldiers | Naval Scenes | "Contrabands," "Freedmen," and
Refugees | African Americans in Military Camps and Sites of Military Activity | Other Images of African Americans | Related Subject Matter
This reference aid lists photographs in the
Civil War Photograph Collection that include
African
Americans.
Researchers need to be aware of two facts about
its compilation:
- Images
of African
American soldiers are
not well represented in P&P files.
Rather, most photographs
show African Americans as civilians attached to
the military, and as "contraband" and
refugees.
- The
identification of racial or ethnic characteristics
of people in a photograph on visual evidence
alone is
risky,
if not impossible.
While it is believed
from visual examination that the images on this
list show African Americans, there is
no way to prove (or
disprove) this belief.
Organization of the List
The images
are grouped into broad subject categories,
based on what can be discerned
from
the images
and the text
found on them:
- African American soldiers
- Naval scenes
- "Contrabands," "freedmen"
and refugees
- African Americans in military camps and
sites of military activity
- Other Images
of African
Americans
- Images
that do not show African Americans, but
include related
subject matter (e.g., slave pens,
white officers of African American troops)
Compilation of the List
P&P staff
and a volunteer compiled this list
by surveying the Civil War Photograph LOTs--photographic
prints grouped by subject matter. In many
cases, the photographic prints correspond to
negatives in the Library's holdings. (For more
information see the Civil War Photographs Background
and Scope document in the Prints & Photographs
Online Catalog.) When the Civil War negatives
came available in the online catalog, staff
matched the entries for the prints to the corresponding
negatives, wherever possible, in order to include
digital images
in the list.
In some
cases, no corresponding negative was found online;
in other cases, variant images were found in
this way. The more than 7,000 negatives have
not, themselves, been surveyed systematically
for additional images
of African
Americans. Researchers are
encouraged to report to P&P reference staff
any images that are not listed so that amendments
can be made.
Content of the Entries
- A digital image is included with an entry
if one was found online. If multiple digital
images are available (e.g., for both the negative
and for the print), priority was given to a
high resolution scan of the negative or a scan
of a color copy transparency made of a print,
in preference to a scan of a black-and-white
copy
negative
of the print. The Prints & Photographs Online
Catalog may lead to additional versions.
- Wherever possible,
text appearing with the photographic print
has
been quoted.
- Citations to three
major works are noted as staff encounter
reproductions
of images in them. The works are:
- Gardner, Alexander. Photographic
Sketch Book of the Civil War. Reprint.
New York: Dover, [1959]. [LC cal number:
E468.7.G19] (cited as Gardner's Photographic
Sketch Book)
- Image of War, 1861-1865.
6 vol. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981-1984.
[various call
numbers] (cited as Image of War)
- Miller, Francis Trevelyan, ed. Photographic
History of the Civil War.
10 vol. New York: T. Yoseloff, [1957] [LC
call number: E468.7.M64 1957] (cited as "Miller")
- The call number indicates where the Division's
photographic print is stored. If the entry includes
a digital image made from a corresponding negative,
the
call
number for the negative is
also cited.
- Reproduction
numbers are included for those
needing to order
quality copies. For further information about
obtaining copies, see the next section.
Reproductions and Rights
Each thumbnail digital image included
in the list is linked to display in the Prints
and Photographs Online Catalog where larger
versions of the image are available. Users may
download the larger images themselves. The images
vary in quality and resolution. In general the
Civil War glass negatives were scanned at a
high resolution
sufficient for most publication purposes.
The entries also cite reproduction numbers
used for
ordering
quality
copies
from the Library
of Congress Photoduplication Service. If
the "Reproduction
number" category
contains only dashes,
no digital scan or negative exists and
photography of the original
will have to
be requested by citing
the call number.
There are no known restrictions on publication
of images included in this list. For more information,
see the Civil
War Photographs rights statement.
Jump to: African
American Soldiers | Naval
Scenes | "Contrabands," "Freedmen," and
Refugees | African Americans
in Military Camps and Sites of Military Activity | Other
Images of African Americans | Related
Subject Matter
Prepared by: P&P Staff. Last revised: May 2004
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