Photo Essays
Stories of the Civil War as told through series of captivating images
Published: 9/15/23
Hints to Soldiers
The Soldier in Our Civil War, a multi-volume work about the Civil War published in 1893, showcases many of the illustrations that appeared during the conflict in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. The...
Published: 5/24/23
Elmer Ellsworth’s Civil War
On May 24, 1861, 24-year-old Elmer E. Ellsworth—colonel of the 11th New York Infantry—was shot and killed by the pro-secessionist proprietor of the Marshall House, an inn located in Alexandria,...
Published: 12/16/22
The Holiday Season During War
How did Americans observe Christmas and the New Year during the Civil War? Illustrated newspapers, like Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s, published many illustrations throughout the conflict that showed readers how their fellow countrymen marked...
Published: 7/21/22
First Bull Run
On July 21, 1861, Union and Confederate forces clashed just north of Manassas, Virginia, in the war’s first major land battle. The engagment brought together inexperienced northern and southern volunteers,...
Published: 4/14/22
Assassination Artifacts
“That is the last speech he will ever make.” So remarked John Wilkes Booth on April 11, 1865, after listening to President Abraham Lincoln deliver remarks outside the White House....
Published: 1/14/22
The Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation—which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free”—went into effect. Drafted the previous summer, and...
Published: 10/15/21
The Mountain Campaigns in Georgia
Published in 1890, The Mountain Campaigns in Georgia—a slim volume devoted to telling the story of the battles fought in the war’s western theater along the Western & Atlantic Railroad—boasted a...
Published: 7/18/21
The 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner
On July 18, 1863, Union troops commanded by Brigadier General Quincy Gillmore launched an attack on Fort Wagner, the Confederate bastion that protected Morris Island, located south of Charleston Harbor—part...