Images of the American Civil War

May 20, 2005 7:23 AM

Images of the American Civil War
posted by matteo (23 comments total)

This is amazing, thank you.
posted by saladin at 7:34 AM on May 20, 2005

Thank you matteo. There are some extraordinary pics in there. It's a little eerie actually, looking into the eyes of some of them, the quality is so good. It doesn't always look like it's 140 years away.
posted by peacay at 7:35 AM on May 20, 2005

Incredible images, and perfect for a lecture I'm working on. Thank you.
posted by Cuke at 7:37 AM on May 20, 2005

among my favorites: Lincoln Assassination
posted by matteo at 7:41 AM on May 20, 2005

Yeah, very nice, thanks.

This one of Lincoln in particular is amazing, I know it's mostly an artifact of the photographic process, but he really looks like a statue, as well as being odd looking in general. The feller on his right looks looks like a positive bastard and nogoodnik, awesome.
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:43 AM on May 20, 2005

Great post, thanks. Kind of like a Ken Burns documentary, without the sleep-inducing commentary.

The feller on his right looks looks like a positive bastard and nogoodnik, awesome.

Divine_Wino, there's a good reason why he looks that way. He's Allan Pinkerton (you've probably heard of Pinkerton Security) who foiled an assassination attempt on Lincoln in 1861, and who founded the first Secret Service.
posted by pardonyou? at 7:49 AM on May 20, 2005

I knew he was a bastard, fucking Pinkertons. I can always smell a union buster, even from more than 100 years away.
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:59 AM on May 20, 2005

Wow. This is an amazing find! You know, Lincoln just doesn't look human. This is truly amazing stuff. You know, there is only one pictures of battlefield fighting that wasn't staged (because it took so long to take pictures. )
You all should read the book "Confederates in the Attic." Really good.
posted by aacheson at 8:11 AM on May 20, 2005

Check this out... look at the numbers that died of disease vs. war wounds. Amazing.
posted by aacheson at 8:19 AM on May 20, 2005

Wow, matteo, this is a great find! Thanks for sharing it.
posted by LeeJay at 8:46 AM on May 20, 2005

This is a great post. There's also a db of selected civil war photos at the Library of Congress. I'm not sure what the overlap is.

Thanks.
posted by OmieWise at 8:53 AM on May 20, 2005

Very interesting.
posted by caddis at 9:08 AM on May 20, 2005

Excellent. But it's a pity there isn't any background. For example, what is this about? Why are they collecting the bones of the dead? What are they going to do with them?
posted by TimothyMason at 9:20 AM on May 20, 2005

Geez, I could look at these all day. Thanks, matteo!
posted by DakotaPaul at 9:25 AM on May 20, 2005

Am I the only one who's getting 404's with this link?
posted by damnthesehumanhands at 9:33 AM on May 20, 2005

Why are they collecting the bones of the dead? What are they going to do with them?

Bury them, would be my guess. Amazing photos.

I strongly second the "Confederates in the Attic" recommendation. It's fascinating and poignant and hilarious. Yes, all at the same time!
posted by naomi at 9:53 AM on May 20, 2005

Lincoln seems to be moving slightly in each of the photos with Pinkerton, causing a slight smearing which explains why he looks so weird.
posted by breath at 11:32 AM on May 20, 2005

Civil War tomfoolery? The solider on the roof looks like he's ready to drop something on the head of one of the people below.
posted by bjork24 at 11:35 AM on May 20, 2005

I think your right. It looks like he is about to drop a wood chip on the guys below.
posted by caddis at 11:58 AM on May 20, 2005

Awesome link; I could spend hours looking at these.

I have to say that it's a little weird to me that the only known picture of Lincoln at the dedication of the Civil War cemetery at Gettysburg isn't included in the Library of Congress collection linked by OmieWise... it's an image that's in the Library of Congress, after all, and is a neat story that you'd think they'd want to highlight!
posted by delfuego at 12:09 PM on May 20, 2005

very fine post , thx much.
posted by nola at 2:30 PM on May 20, 2005

Why are they collecting the bones of the dead? What are they going to do with them?

Yeah, it was to bury them. There is a new book out about the massive federal effort to identify and bury the Union war dead, and the South's reaction to it. It's called Honoring the Civil War Dead, by John Neff.

Nice post, thanks.
posted by marxchivist at 3:25 PM on May 20, 2005

Fantastic. I spent an unconscionable time staring into the determined gaze of John Brown, trying for the millionth time to figure out how I feel about him. Thanks, matteo.
posted by languagehat at 5:41 PM on May 20, 2005