American Civil War Photos

All images on our website were first published in the United States a very long time ago, and now fall under public domain. All pictures were either scanned or digitally photographed for mass production, which has slightly diminished the clarity for the final displayed resolution. Remember, these photographic images were taken in the 1860’s. For example, prints from The Photographic History of the Civil War were already a little soft to begin with. Many of these photos can be found in sharp detail through the Library of Congress archives.

Photos on this website were originally published during the Civil War, from April 1861 to 1865. During wartime, many pictures were first sketched, and these sketches were used to create wood cuts to print photos in the weekly newspapers.

While working, photographers kept very busy recording the life and times of this era, and you will see a good representation of their effort when viewing these Civil War photo archives.

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