11
Images
Published: 6/30/14
Inside the Photographer’s Studio
Between 1861 and 1865, roughly one thousand photographers captured the people and places of the Civil War; dozens followed the armies, shooting pictures of the men who were firing the...
13
Published: 10/9/13
Wounded Warriors: Civil War Amputation
Learn about the realities of Civil War amputation and the difficult decisions doctors faced on the battlefield.
12
Published: 6/30/13
Gettysburg in Color
At the Battle of Gettysburg, artist Edwin Forbes was an eyewitness to history. Later, he created these watercolors based on the sketches he had made as the epic engagement unfolded.
18
Published: 3/12/13
Civil War Envelopes
Delve into the world of Civil War envelopes. See how soldiers stayed connected through handwritten letters and intricate, decorative envelope designs.
Published: 8/24/12
Fathering Recruitment
Titled, “A Good Way for Fathers of Families to Aid Recruiting,” this July 1862 Harper’s Weekly cartoon is a playful take on Union recruitment efforts. (Yet, it is much more...
Published: 8/17/12
Hercules of the Union
Happy Friday! Today’s Friday Funny is a celebration of Union General Winfield Scott—cast here as the mythical Hercules slaying a secessionist hydra. Aiding Scott in his epic battle is the...
Published: 6/29/12
Dark Artillery
Happy Friday! Today’s Civil War cartoon is a Frank Leslie drawing entitled “Dark Artillery” or “How to make the contrabands useful.” Published in 1861, the cartoon is a commentary on...
Published: 6/22/12
The New Orleans Plum
Happy Friday! This week’s Friday Funny is an 1862 cartoon entitled, “The New Orleans Plum.” A contemporary take on the famous Mother Goose tale, “Little Jack Horner,” this illustration casts...
Published: 6/18/12
The Cumberland
Good morning! Today we bring you an 1862 poem by Herman Melville entitled, “The Cumberland.” Written in March of 1862, Melville lyrivally referenced the fateful sinking of the USS Cumberland...
Published: 6/15/12
Not Up To Time
Good afternoon! Today’s Friday Funny is an 1862 piece from the London weekly magazine, Punch. Entitled, “”Not up to Time;” Or, Intereference would be very Welcome,” the cartoon highlights the...
Published: 6/11/12
Elegy for the Native Guards
In honor of Natasha Trethewey being named the next poet laureate, we thought we would share with you one of her Civil War inspired poems. Now that the salt of...
Published: 6/8/12
Masterly Inactivity
Good afternoon! This Frank Leslie cartoon parodies the extended military standoff between Union General George B. McClellan’s Army of Potomac and Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard’s Army of the Shenandoah during...
Published: 6/1/12
Sinbad Lincoln and the Old Man of the Sea
Good Morning! Today’s Friday Funny is Frank Leslie’s “Sinbad Lincoln and the Old Man of the Sea.” A clear critique of Gideon Welles, the Union Secretary of the Navy, this...
Published: 5/25/12
Neutrality or Death?
Good Morning! Today’s Friday Funny comes to us from the June 29, 1861 edition of Harper’s Weekly. The caption reads, “Governor Magoffin’s neutrality means holding the Cock of the Walk...
Published: 5/18/12
Why Don’t You Take It?
Good morning! Today’s Friday Funny is an 1861 Currier & Ives sketch commenting on the Union’s substantial advantage in terms war materiel. The above cartoon illustrates the might of the...
Published: 5/11/12
The “Light Guard”
Good Morning! Today’s Friday Funny is an 1861 Harper’s Weekly cartoon. Entitled “Costume Suggested for the Brave Stay-at-Home Light Guard,” this sketch mockingly questions the masculinity of Union men who...
Published: 5/5/12
…And They’re Off…
In honor of the Kentucky Derby, we bring you this image of Civil War era horse racing (courtesy of Frank Leslie). While not a Stakes Race, this image is from...
Published: 5/4/12
The Blockade on the “Connecticut Plan”
Good Morning! To celebrate the end of another long work week, we bring you a “Friday Funny.” Today’s Civil War era cartoon is an 1862 Currier & Ives sketch entitled,...