The Civil War

The Authentic History Center has plans for a more extensive Civil War section in the future. In the meantime, these images are presented for your use and enjoyment.

Photograph Comparisons of Abraham Lincoln, 1860-1865	General George McClellan	General Ulysses S. Grant	General Robert E. Lee	Jefferson Davis Portrait, 1863
Civil War Token, from Grand Rapids, MI	Battle of The Wilderness Engraving & Song, 1964	President Lincoln inspecting the troops	Civil War bullet display case	Confederate Cavalry Flag (3 views)
Recruiting Poster	Recruiting Poster	Recruiting Poster	Robert E. Lee, photographed by Matthew Brady, 1865	"Emancipation Proclamation," Harper's Weekly, January 24, 1863, by Thomas Nast
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain	Confederate Prisoners at Gettysburg, 1863	Dead Soldiers at Gettysburg, 1863	Devils Den Sharpshooter at Gettysburg, 1863	Appomattox Courthouse, as it appears in modern times (2 views)
Painting of the 1865 surrender of General Lee's army to General Grant, Appomattox Courthouse, painted in 1867	Painting of Confederate soldiers rolling up the flag after General Lee's surrender	Engraving of General Lee, after his surrender to General Grant	Broadside for Our American Cousin, the play President Lincoln was watching at Ford's Theater when he was shot (reproduction)	The last photograph taken of President Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln Assassin	Ford's Theater, where Lincoln was shot, 1865	Lincoln's Theater Chair	Ford's Theater, view from President's Box	Lincoln assassination conspirators
Painting of the assassination of President Lincoln	Engraving of the Lincoln assassination, Harper's Weekly, April 29, 1865	Newspaper headline on Lincoln's death	Lincoln assassination wanted poster (2 views)	Sheet Music: General Grant's March (1890)
Lincoln Sesquicentennial Plate, 1959 ( 3 views)

Handbill advertising the Gettysburg Cyclorama in Boston

French artist Paul Philippoteaux made four Gettysburg cycloramas, each depicting the climax of the battle on the afternoon of July 3, 1863, when Confederates made an all-out assault on the Union line along Cemetery Ridge. Philippoteaux traveled to Gettysburg in 1882 and spent several weeks sketching the battlefield, having photographs made and talking to veterans. The cycloramas are 360 degree paintings, about 370 feet long and 22 feet tall. The original "Battle of Gettysburg" cyclorama opened in Chicago in 1883 and was such a hit that Philippoteaux was commissioned to paint a second, which went on view in Boston in 1884. This second version is the one that is on display at Gettysburg National Military Park. Slightly shorter at 359 feet long, it is nearly identical to the first except for minor details. The third and fourth Gettysburg cycloramas have been lost. The first cyclorama was found in Chicago and as of 2005, was still being stored in 14 cylinders at Wake Forest University, looking for a buyer. The recovery of the first Gettysburg cyclorama was made by the late artist Joseph Wallace King. A world-renowned portraitist, he had a special interest in large paintings and searched for 30 years for the

"Chicago edition" of the cyclorama before he found it, in 1965, in a nearly forgotten storage room of a Chicago warehouse.

Engraving of New York Draft Riots, 1963

"Dedicated To The Chicago Convention," Harper's Weekly, September 3, 1864, by Thomas Nast

Left:The military draft announced in 1863 touches off decades of pent up frustration among the Irish in New York City. They rioted up, toward the richer citizens of New York, and they rioted down, toward their main economic competitors--the city's African American population.

Right: This is a harsh criticism of the dominant influence of Peace Democrats ("Copperheads") at the Democratic National Convention, which was meeting in Chicago in late August 1864. In this cartoon, the Democratic "Chicago Convention" is viewed as a betrayal of everything for which Union soldiers were fighting, as well as a betrayal of black Americans.

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Images and Artifacts Related To The American Civil War