Selected Civil War Photographs Home Page

Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

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The Selected Civil War Photographs Collection contains 1,118 photographs. Most of the images were made under the supervision of Mathew B. Brady, and include scenes of military personnel, preparations for battle, and battle after-effects. The collection also includes portraits of both Confederate and Union officers, and a selection of enlisted men.

An additional two hundred autographed portraits of army and navy officers, politicians, and cultural figures can be seen in the Civil War photograph album, ca. 1861-65. (James Wadsworth Family Papers). The full album pages are displayed as well as the front and verso of each carte de visite, revealing studio logos, addresses, and other imprint information on the approximately twenty photographers represented in the album.

The mission of the Library of Congress is to make its resources available and useful to Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The goal of the Library's National Digital Library Program is to offer broad public access to a wide range of historical and cultural documents as a contribution to education and lifelong learning.

The Library of Congress presents these documents as part of the record of the past. These primary historical documents reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these collections, which may contain materials offensive to some readers.

Special Presentations:

Time Line of The Civil War, 1861-1865
1861 | 1862 | 1863 | 1864 | 1865 | Other Photographs

Does The Camera Ever Lie?

Understanding the Collection

Photographers

Taking photographs at the time of the Civil War

Officer's rank in captions

Introduction to the 1961 microfilm edition

Bibliographies

Collection Connections

Working with the Collection

Phototechnical note

How to Order Photographic Reproductions

Cataloging the Collection

American Memory | Search All Collections | Collection Finder | Learning Page

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Jan-15-00