ID Civil War Photos



You might be one of the fortunate family history researchers who has a photo of an ancestor who served during the American Civil War (1861-1865). I’m saying a photo of them in uniform either just before they entered, during service or immediately after discharge. You might have photos of that ancestor years later, but it is just not the same as having one from the 1860s.

If you do have such a photo, unless an earlier ancestor attached information about that photo you might not have any details on the ancestor or his regiment from the war. But with technology and a world-wide Internet community, you might be able to learn more about that Civil War photo that has been handed down through the generations.

Started in 2018 is an online site titled: ‘Civil War Sleuth‘. This free online site purpose is rediscover the lost names and stories of every photo of American Civil War soldiers and sailors. Millions of portraits were created during the war yet not all are fully identified.

You just sign up (free) then upload a scanned copy of any Civil War era photos you have, including the back of the image (could be forgotten info there). Anything that is known about the person or people in the image is tagged by the person who uploaded the image.

Then Photo Sleuth cross-references the submitted photos with its own database: 15,000 identified Civil War soldier portraits from countless sources (state, national, military and personal archives). After a year there is about 4,000 registered users and over 8,000 added photos.

Of course historians estimate that 1861-1866 there was about 4 million photos taken, so many to yet be identified.

Even if you have your Civil War era photos identified, upload those with the tag information to Civil War Sleuth and it might help someone else and provide you possibly another photo you never saw.

Photos: Confederate soldier Elijah Anderson (circa 1816-1862) in civilian clothes. Pinned to his left lapel is a ribbon displaying the name “Anderson” ; and Private Lawson E. Barber of Vermont Artillery 2nd Battery.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Any Civil War Veteran?

Civil War Glass Negatives

Blue & Gray Ancestors

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