United States Civil War
Photos from the U.S. Civil War Read more >>
The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and ended on May 10,1865, lasting 4 years, 3 weeks, and 6 days. 750,000 soldiers died in the Civil War, making it the deadliest war in United States history. It is estimated that 10 percent of all northern males age 20 - 45 were killed during the Civil War and 30 percent of all southern males ages 18 - 40 died.
This is a collection of real photos of the men and women of the American Civil War, as well as some of the important events and places. << Read less
This is a collection of real photos of the men and women of the American Civil War, as well as some of the important events and places. << Read less
James Colf
7 Aug. 1844 - 4 Feb 1912
Enlisted as a private in Co. C, 17th Michigan Infantry in August, 1862. He was wounded in the shoulder at the battle of the Wilderness, and twice in the head at Antietam. He came to Exeter Township, Michigan in 1855, locating on section 11.
Enlisted as a Private on 11 August 1862 at the age of 18
Enlisted in Company C, 17th Infantry Regiment Michigan on 18 August 1862.
Wounded on 17 September 1862 at Antietam, MD
Wounded on 20 January 1864 at Knoxville, TN
Mustered out Company C, 17th Infantry Regiment Michigan on 03 June 1865 in Delaney House, Washington, DC
After returning to Michigan, James married Martha Ellen Richards on 12 Feb. 1869 in Van Buren Township; Wayne County, Michigan.
From their photo collection, courtesy of descendants Art & Betty Goodhall. Uploaded by Janice Pfluge Cain
Shared
on Nov 25, 2011 by:
Topics:
Alfred R Waud's sketch of Thanksgiving in a Civil War camp, Thursday November 28th 1861. This may be the camp of General Louis Blenker.
Alfred Rudolph Waud was an artist who was most remembered for the sketches that he made as a correspondent for the Civil War. Since the technology didn't exist for photos to be printed in newspapers, Waud was instrumental in bringing scenes of the Civil War to the public.
Sketch courtesy of the Library of Congress, Alfred R Waud
Shared
on Nov 23, 2011 by:
Topics:
The Battle of Antietam, MD (Sept through Oct 1862) on the main eastern theater of the war.
Men in the photo: Seated: R. William Moore and Allan Pinkerton. Standing: George H. Bangs, John C. Babcock, and Augustus K. Littlefield
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Alexander Gardner, photographer
Shared
on Oct 10, 2011 by:
Topics:
First female US Army surgeon, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker.
She began as a nurse on the battlefield of the Civil War but became a (civilian) battlefield surgeon during the war. (She graduated as a medical doctor in 1855 but women weren't accepted for battlefield service - she changed that.) She was awarded the Medal of Honor for her service (the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor).
After the War, she was a supporter of such issues as health care, temperance, women's rights and dress reform for women. (Look at the photo!)
People in this photo:
Shared
on Sep 17, 2011 by:
Topics:
Photo taken of Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant) who was born on April 27, 1822 and died on July 23, 1885.
This photo of General Grant was taken during the US Civil War. Of course Grant went on to become the 18th President of the United States after the end of the war.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Sep 7, 2011 by:
Topics:
Photo of the 139th Pennsylvania infantry officers from the U.S. Civil War.
The 139th infantry has a very interesting history. Formed at Camp Howe on 9/1/1862, the brigade participated at the Second Battle of the Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg & the Battle of Gettysburg.
Shared
on Aug 30, 2011 by:
Topics:
Photo of an old steam boat that patrolled the Mississippi river during the time of the US Civil War. Believe it or not, this was the beginning of the US Navy!
Shared
on Aug 30, 2011 by:
Topics:
This was Lt. Col. Calvin Goddard, first of
the 12th Ohio Infantry and later placed on
the staff of General Rosecrans after his
service at the battle of Stones River, Tennessee.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Aug 15, 2011 by:
Topics:
Young woman wearing a Confederate cap. She may be Malinda Jane Cavin of Jackson Co, AL who married Jesse (John)Owens.
Shared
on Jan 30, 2008 by:
Topics:
Private. Enlisted in company F, Twenty-Ninth Infantry, August 31, 1864, at St. Charles, Michigan, for 3 years, age 18. Mustered September 3, 1864. Corporal. Mustered out at Murfreesboro, Tenn., September 6, 1865.
Shared
on May 17, 2007 by:
Topics:
This is a photo of a Prisoners reunion at Andersonville. It was taken at the "Providence Spring " which is located in the stockade pen.
Shared
on Jan 4, 2005 by:
Topics:
Shared
on Jan 4, 2005 by:
Topics:
A badly damaged photo of Truman David Merrihew in his Civil War uniform.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Aug 10, 2019 by:
Topics:
Shared
on May 29, 2019 by:
Topics:
A photo of the Gripman brothers, Hiram and William, in the Civil War. Elder brother William (on the right in the photo) survived the war, got married to Lucina Barr in 1867, had a son and died in 1913 at the age of about 70.
Younger brother Hiram also survived the war, got married to Abbie Blair in 1889, had a son in 1890 and died in 1914 at about the age of 68.
In the 1900 census Hiram is widowed and living with his brother William and wife in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His son is not mentioned on that census so it could be assumed he gave his son up to be raised by someone else upon the death of his wife.
Shared
on Mar 14, 2019 by:
Topics:
I am trying to connect with the descendants of the man mentioned on this medal. I have traced his linage to a James Loretz born approximately 1928/1927 based in the 1940 Census. I don't have a middle initial and I am wondering if this gentleman is connected.
Shared
on Mar 13, 2018 by:
Topics:
A photo of Joshua Lawrence near in the end of his life - in his Civil War uniform with his medals.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Feb 21, 2018 by:
Topics:
A photo of "Fannie" (Adams) Chamberlain, wife of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, taken after the Civil War.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Feb 21, 2018 by:
Topics:
A photo of the grave of Thomas Lewis Harp - His headstone - Rockhouse Cemetery - Union veteran
People in this photo:
Shared
on Feb 10, 2018 by:
Topics:
A photo of Thomas Lewis Harp 1826-1887 Civil War - my 3x great grandfather - Co E 1st Ark Cav
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jan 26, 2018 by:
Topics:
A photo of Benjamin F. Pinkley in the Civil War, 1861. He died in 1862 of smallpox while in camp at Rolla Mo.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jan 19, 2018 by:
Topics:
A photo of John William Masterson who served with the New York 133rd infantry during the American Civil War
People in this photo:
Shared
on May 23, 2017 by:
Topics:
This is a photo of the cover page of a Civil War book of songs. (Ulysses S. Grant on the cover.) Date on booklet is 1911.
Shared
on Feb 13, 2017 by:
Topics:
A photo of possibly a GAR Reunion in Wheeling, West Virginia.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Feb 1, 2017 by:
Topics:
A photo of orders for Shadrach Stacy - Civil War
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jul 12, 2016 by:
Topics:
A photo of Dr. James C. Nidelet during the Civil War.
People in this photo:
Shared
on May 16, 2016 by:
Topics:
Small Cartes de Visite of Civil War soldier Isaac H. Waters created in Nashville, Tennessee
People in this photo:
Shared
on Feb 13, 2016 by:
Topics:
A photo of the Draft exemption for the civil war of George W. Mermoud. Could not tear open paper powder cartridges with his teeth.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jan 10, 2016 by:
Topics:
A photo of Wiley Odom - died in andersonville , GA as a pow
People in this photo:
Shared
on Nov 10, 2015 by:
Topics:
A photo of Fede Lunyou (?) CONFEDERATE SOLDIER
FROM ME HE IS 5 GENERATIONS BACK
AND WE CAN NOT GET PAST THAT GEN.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 25, 2015 by:
Topics:
Wilmot Henry Chapman, born 1846 Nobleboro, Maine. Enlisted 14 Aug. 1862. Died, 4 Oct. 1904, Salt Lake City, Utah.
People in this photo:
Shared
on May 28, 2015 by:
Topics:
Jacob Faller, Caller, Taller, Oaller, Civil War discharge document, PA: This document was in at a historical site. TO who it may concern- Pennsylvania Veteran -VOLUNTEER paid July 1868 it says on upper side. This is the discharge letter stating that Jacob Faller/ Caller, Taller, was born in Butler County Pa and is 29 years old. Year is 1865
The Caligraphy is hard to decipher as the T and F do not match exactly the first letter of last name. I am sure a family relative would be able to discern. This document is at the OLD STONE HOUSE, in Butler County PA, as an area articfact. It does not pertain to those who owned the Old Stone House stagecoach Inn, but that it represents that time period.
Shared
on Feb 10, 2015 by:
Topics:
A photo of Gen. Joseph "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler - Civil War Confederate Lieutenant General, United States Army General, US Congressman. A statue of him represents the state of Alabama in Statuary Hall of the United States Congress. A professional soldier, he attended the United States Military Academy after being appointed from New York, graduating with the Class of 1859. He was the 1843rd graduate of USMA, with a class rank of 19 out of 22. Wheeler was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of the Mounted Rifles (forerunner of the Cavalry), and assigned to New Mexico territory, to enforce peace with the Indians. On February 27, 1861, with the Civil War about to start, he resigned his United States Army commission, and requested a commission with the Confederate States Army. He was appointed Lieutenant of Artillery on April 3, 1861. Subsequently, he was appointed Colonel and commander the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment, and was commended for his actions at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. In addition to Shiloh, he fought in the Kentucky Campaign, at Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Knoxville, and was appointed Cavalry General of the Confederate Armies on May 11, 1864, where he opposed General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea until the war's end. In October 1862, he was promoted to Brigadier General, PACS, and promoted again to Major General, in January 1863. He was promoted to Lieutenant General, in February 1865. At the end of the Civil War, he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and opened a law practice in Wheeler, Alabama. From 1881 to 1900, he served as a Democratic Congressman from Alabama in the United States House of Representatives. In 1898, when the Spanish American War broke out, he was appointed Major General, US Volunteers, and commanded the Cavalry Division of the Cuban Expeditionary Force, which gave him command over the Rough Riders of Teddy Roosevelt fame. He was head of the committee that negotiated the surrender of Santiago and the Spanish Army in Cuba. Following that war, he remained in the United States Army, and from September 1899 to January 1900, he was the commanding General in the field, with the rank of Brigadier General, during the Philippine Insurrection, commanding the First Brigade, Second Division, in the Tarlac Campaign and in the central Luzon. He was commissioned a Brigadier General, Regular Army on June 16, 1900, and retired on September 10, 1900. He died in Brooklyn, New York in 1906. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jan 21, 2015 by:
Topics:
This photo of Maj. Nathan Stanton Babcock of the Army of the Potomac, Civil War was taken sometime during the 1860's while he was a soldier in the Civil War with Co. K, 77th New York Infantry. He was born about September 1830 in New York but after the war he settled in Exerter, Fillmore County, Nebraska where he died on February 26, 1917. He married Sarah Elizabeth Sowle, daughter of Gideon & Sally (Brower) Sowle of Broadalbin, Fulton County, New York on January 2, 1867. They had one son, Barnard DeMontal Babcock who resided in Omaha, Nebraska.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jan 14, 2015 by:
Topics:
American Civil War soldier Joshua E Tilson
People in this photo:
Shared
on Dec 4, 2014 by:
Topics:
Shared
on Nov 13, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of the enlistment papers of Vincent Coleman
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 28, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of document for Vincent Coleman, 11th Tennessee Volunteers
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 28, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of the service papers of Vincent Coleman
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 28, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of the muster roll of the Tennessee voluntteers - Vincent Coleman
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 28, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of Vincent Coleman (Tennessee Volunteers)
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 28, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of the document for Private Vincent Coleman, Company A, 11th Tennessee Volunteers
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 28, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of the Civil War orders of Shadrach Stacy
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 15, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of the military record of Samuel Hornback. State: Missouri Short Description: NARA M405. Compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the State of Missouri. Roll: 0284 Military Unit: Fifteenth Cavalry, Dr-La Givenname: Samuel Surname: Hornbeck Age: 30 Year: 1865
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 10, 2014 by:
Topics:
Grave of Civil War veteran Robert Milroy.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 2, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of Jeremiah Van Kleeck, Jr. in his Civil War uniform. Jeremiah was a 90 day volunteer in the 20th New York State Militia, also known as 80th New York Volunteer Infantry. Jeremiah enlisted in 1861 when he was about 20 years old. This photo was probably taken around that time.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 2, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of Francis Van Kleeck's grave at Andersonville. The grave is number 8806 in Union Trench H.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 2, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of David Van Kleeck, who was in the 120th New York Volunteer Infantry. David is wearing his uniform and holding his rifle. This photo was badly faded and scratched when the scan was sent to me to fix and the relative who owns it says it has now gone completely black.
People in this photo:
Shared
on Oct 2, 2014 by:
Topics:
Shared
on Sep 25, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of William J. Bartell enlistment paper for the Michigan Volunteers in 1863
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jul 20, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of William J. Bartell
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jul 20, 2014 by:
Topics:
A photo of William J. Bartell in his uniform,
People in this photo:
Shared
on Jul 20, 2014 by:
Topics:
