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Author Archives: James Brookes
Railroads – Riding the Rails: Union Soldiers Experience Train Transport in the Civil War
As Leander Stillwell was penning his Civil War reminiscences in the nineteen-tens, the Mexican Revolution was raging across the border. It was a time of heightened tension in the American Southwest, and a recent stir regarding the shuttling of American … Continue reading
Soldier-Artists and the Battle Experience (Part II)
This is the second of two posts regarding soldier-artists and their depictions of the experience of battle. Part I may be found here. To appreciate the extent that images such as Adolph Metzner’s Cozy corner defied the conventions of mainstream art, it … Continue reading
Posted in Antebellum South, Armies, Arms & Armaments, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Civilian, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Material Culture, Memory, Mexican War, Photography, Primary Sources, Weapons
Tagged Armies, art, battlefields, Battles, Civil War, civilians, common soldiers, Material Culture, Newspapers, Officers, Photography, Primary Sources, Visual Culture, War art, Weapons
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Soldier-Artists and the Battle Experience (Part I)
This is the first of two posts regarding soldier-artists and their depictions of the experience of battle. “Pshaw. It’s no use, they can’t picture a battle,” exclaimed the young son of Reverend A. M. Stewart of the 102nd Pennsylvania Volunteers, a … Continue reading
Posted in Armies, Arms & Armaments, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Civilian, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Material Culture, Memory, Newspapers, Photography, Primary Sources, Weapons
Tagged Armies, art, artists, battlefields, Battles, Civil War, civilians, common soldiers, Material Culture, Newspapers, Officers, Photography, Primary Sources, Visual Culture, War art, Weapons
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Modern Photography: History Through The Lens
In the twenty-first century, digital cameras and social media launch an almost unceasing barrage of images towards us. We take pictures wherever we go, share images with the click of a button, and replicate them almost endlessly. Therefore, I’ve chosen … Continue reading
Posted in Emerging Civil War, Photography
Tagged civil war photography, living history, modern-photography-17
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“An Especial Prize to the Boys:” Union Soldiers and the Illustrated News (Part 2)
This is the second of two posts regarding the relationship between Union soldiers and the emerging illustrated press during the Civil War. Part 1 may be found here. Soldiers were evidently grateful to receive the illustrated weeklies. Albert O. Marshall of the … Continue reading
Posted in Armies, Civilian, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Material Culture, Newspapers, Politics
Tagged Army of the Potomac, Civil War Women, Daily Papers, edwin forbes, Engraving, Frank Leslie's Illustrated, Harper's Weekly, Hospitals, Illinois, Illustrated News, Illustrations, Lithographs, New York Herald, New York Illustrated News, Newspapers, Pennsylvania, Propaganda, Regimental Newspapers, South Carolina, Spotsylvania, Thomas Nast, Weekly Papers
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“An Especial Prize to the Boys:” Union Soldiers and the Illustrated News (Part 1)
This is the first of two posts regarding the relationship between Union soldiers and the emerging illustrated press during the Civil War. The Union soldier of the Civil War had an insatiable hunger for newspapers. Joseph C. G. Kennedy, head of … Continue reading
Posted in Armies, Battles, Civil War Events, Civilian, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Material Culture, Newspapers, Politics
Tagged Army of the Potomac, Daily Papers, edwin forbes, Engraving, Frank Leslie's Illustrated, Harper's Weekly, Illustrated News, Illustrations, Indiana, Lithographs, New York Herald, New York Illustrated News, Newspapers, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Philadelphia Enquirer, South Carolina, Thomas Nast, U.S. Census, Weekly Papers
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“Little Photography in Jeffdom:” The Decline of Photography in the Civil War South
In 1862 Humphrey’s Journal of the Daguerreotype and Photographic Arts boasted that “The Photographic Art down South has completely died out in consequence of the war.”[i] Though an obvious overstatement, considering that southern photographers operated throughout the war, the journal … Continue reading
Posted in Antebellum South, Civil War Events, Civilian, Common Soldier, Economics, Leadership--Confederate, Lincoln, Material Culture, Memory, Newspapers, Personalities, Photography, Politics
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Antebellum, art, Charleston, Civil War, common soldiers, George S. Cook, Illustrated News, North, Photography, presidential election, Richmond, South
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Thomas Nast’s Divided Christmas
On this day in 1863 Thomas Nast’s Christmas Eve forced the readers of Harper’s Weekly to confront the hardships of a war-torn wintry season. Though drawn in 1862, the image occupied a double-page spread in the January 3, 1863 edition … Continue reading
“With Great Steadiness and Courage:” The 22nd USCT and their Flag
The 22nd United States Colored Troops was organised at Camp William Penn between the 10th and 29th of January, 1864. The narrative of the regiment illustrates the desire of many black troops to shun the tedious manual labour that they often found thrust … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, Slavery, USCT
Tagged African Americans, Civil War, Flags, USCT, Visual Culture
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