Faces of the Civil War (ePub)

Archival images and biographical sketches of Union soldiers tell the stories of their lives during and after the Civil War.

Before leaving to fight in the Civil War, many Union and Confederate soldiers posed for acarte de visite, or visiting card, to give to their families, friends, or sweethearts. Invented in 1854 by a French photographer, thecarte de visitewas a small photographic print roughly the size of a modern trading card. The format arrived in America on the eve of the Civil War, fueling intense demand for the keepsakes. Many cards of Civil War soldiers survive today, but the experiences?and often the names?of the individuals portrayed have been lost to time. A passionate collector of Civil War-era photography, Ron Coddington researched the history behind these anonymous faces in military records, pension files, and other public and personal documents.

InFaces of the Civil War, Coddington presents 77cartes de visiteof Union soldiers from his collection and tells the stories of their lives during and after the war. These soldiers came from all walks of life. All were volunteers. Their personal stories reveal a tremendous diversity in their experience of war: many served with distinction, some were captured, some never saw combat while others saw little else. The lives of survivors were even more disparate. While some made successful transitions back to civilian life, others suffered permanent physical and mental disabilities, which too often wrecked their families and careers. In compelling words and haunting pictures,Faces of the Civil Waroffers a unique perspective on the most dramatic and wrenching period in American history.