Manuscripts

American Civil War research collection

Description: This collection of American Civil War related photographs and ephemera provides an insight into the biography of Edwin M. Stanton and the research of the Civil War in the late 1920s to early 1950s. The collection includes a copy of Florence Gratiot Bale's "General Grant's Galena Home" (Waukegan, Illinois, 1929); 12 black-and-white photographs (1950) from the series "Service Cameramen Visit Civil War Shrines" issued by the United States Department of Defense; 14 black-and-white photographs by Wilbur G. Kurtz of the Atlanta campaign; 2 black-and-white photographs (1929) of the site of Jefferson Davis's capture; and 17 black-and-white photographs of Edwin M. Stanton's house in Cadiz, Ohio. Also includes a photostat copy of George B. Todd's letter, which contains an important first-hand account of Abraham Lincoln's assassination and unbound binder leaves with 35 black-and-white photographs (1933 to 1935) of the sites of the Lincoln assassination and the trial of conspirators, taken by L. C. Handy and Casson studios.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1929-1950
Call number: mssCIV
Provenance: Gift of Michael E. Gross and Eliza B. Gross, January 2018.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights: The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Associated people: Kurtz, Wilbur G.; Bale, Florence Gratiot.
Find out more: View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab); View in the Online Archive of California(Opens in new tab)

American Civil War research collection

Manuscripts

This collection of American Civil War related photographs and ephemera provides an insight into the biography of Edwin M. Stanton and the research of the Civil War in the late 1920s to early 1950s. The collection includes a copy of Florence Gratiot Bale's "General Grant's Galena Home" (Waukegan, Illinois, 1929); 12 black-and-white photographs (1950) from the series "Service Cameramen Visit Civil War Shrines" issued by the United States Department of Defense; 14 black-and-white photographs by Wilbur G. Kurtz of the Atlanta campaign; 2 black-and-white photographs (1929) of the site of Jefferson Davis's capture; and 17 black-and-white photographs of Edwin M. Stanton's house in Cadiz, Ohio. Also includes a photostat copy of George B. Todd's letter, which contains an important first-hand account of Abraham Lincoln's assassination and unbound binder leaves with 35 black-and-white photographs (1933 to 1935) of the sites of the Lincoln assassination and the trial of conspirators, taken by L. C. Handy and Casson studios.

mssCIV

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Herbert William Singleton Collection of Civil War Photographs

Visual Materials

The Herbert William Singleton Collection is a group of Civil War photographs acquired by Civil War veteran Lindsey M. Gould in the late 19th century as a keepsake of his war experience. The collection includes the work of noted photographers Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, William H. Tipton, and George S. Cook. The collection is organized into four discrete yet interrelated units. The first consists of 79 photographs by Mathew Brady (1823-1896) and Alexander Gardner (1821- 1882) of scenes of the Civil War taken between 1861 and 1865. Included are group portraits of generals with their staffs, important wartime sites and activities, and photographs of paintings depicting various skirmishes. While the photographs were taken by Brady and Gardner during the war, the images were printed around 1885 by John Taylor and marketed by the firm of Taylor & Huntington. These photographer-entrepreneurs hoped to capitalize on twenty-fifth anniversary war reunions and commemorations by reissuing the once-familiar views. On the verso of each image is a partial list of the photographs sold by Taylor & Huntington for 75 cents a piece. The second grouping of photographs depicts two views of Abraham Lincoln and portraits of the Lincoln conspirators and their execution. These were also taken by Brady and Gardner during the war and, as with the first group, printed and issued around 1885 by Taylor & Huntington. Of particular rarity are the fourteen photographs of the Lincoln assassination conspirators including portraits of David Herold, George Atzerot, Edward Spangler, two views of Lewis Payne, two views of Michael O'Laughlin, and an unidentified conspirator. Additionally, there is a complete set of three images depicting the execution of Mrs. Surratt and the conspirators taken by Alexander Gardner on July 7, 1865, as well as three of the five known images documenting the execution of Captain Wirtz, the notorious Keeper of Andersonville Prison. Eighty-three cabinet portraits of Confederate Generals and other Southern leaders by George S. Cook (1819-1902) comprise the third section of the collection. Cook was a friend and former employee of Mathew Brady, and he provided E. & H.T. Anthony Co. with portraits from the South, including the first portrait of Colonel Robert Anderson. These portraits may come from sources other than Cook as he purchased competing photographers negatives, issuing them on his mounts. These portraits were taken in the 1860s but printed between 1880 and 1890 when Cook operated his Richmond, Virginia studio at 913 East Main Street. The last grouping of photographs contains 210 images by William H. Tipton (1850- 1929), the self-described "Battlefield Photographer." The imperial-sized photographs depict the numerous monuments erected on the Gettysburg battlefield to honor the soldiers who fought and died in this decisive battle. The photographs date from the 1880s. The Singleton Collection constitutes of one of the most complete historic archives of the Gettysburg monuments. An item-level description for all the images follows in the container list. The Huntington item number appears in the left margin beside each photograph. Where applicable, the photographer's original negative number appears in parentheses at the end of the description. Descriptions appearing in brackets were assigned by the cataloger.

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Collection of Civil War photographs including views of City Point and Richmond

Visual Materials

A collection of various Civil War photographs that were bound into an album (now disbound), and were compiled by John P. Nicholson, Civil War veteran and collector. The albumen prints are approximately 10 x 12 1/2 inches, mounted on boards, with a few small, amateur photographs pasted on backs of some boards. The album begins with views of City Point by William Hathaway, including General U.S. Grant's headquarters and other barracks, and civilian men and women aboard a steamboat. Views in Richmond depict Libby Prison, building ruins, and Jefferson Davis' residence. Other subjects are: Lookout Mountain, Tennessee; soldiers and officers; an army camp at Scottstown, Alabama; an army bridge created from boats at Fredericksburg, Virginia (1862); U.S. Colored Troops standing in formation at Camp William Penn, Philadelphia (approximately 1863); Citizens' Volunteer Hospital; and a group of Black and white children, men, and women at "Scott House, opposite Fredericksburg." There are two photographs of illustrations by Civil War artist James E. Taylor depicting the Battle of Vermillion Bayou and Custer's charge through a Cheyenne village, Wyoming (1868). The album is disbound, and four photographs have been matted and housed in Box 2.

photCL 306

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Photographs of Civil War generals and officers

Visual Materials

Carte-de-visite photographs of Civil War generals and officers, almost all taken during the war. Includes: Benjamin Franklin Butler; David Farragut; Henry Halleck; five different portraits of Robert E. Lee; L. K. Westcott; Gouverneur Kemble Warren; R. H. Johnson; four different portraits of William Rosecrans; Alexander McCook; Edwin Stanton; Winfield Scott; and two different portraits of Ulysses S. Grant. Several photographs by Mathew Brady.

photPF 2880-2899

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Collection of Civil War photographs including war casualties

Visual Materials

A collection of 63 Civil War photographs compiled by John P. Nicholson, Civil War veteran and collector. The albumen photographs are mounted on boards that had been bound into an album (now disbound). Most are undated and have little identification, though some have faded pencil writing on back. Many images depict battlefields, primarily in Gettysburg, such as Little Round Top, Devil's Den, and others. Of particular note are photographs of war dead on the battlefield by Mathew B. Brady and Timothy O'Sullivan (1863); and an image of a dead young man, labeled a "rebel sharpshooter," by Alexander Gardner. Another image shows Brady overlooking "The Wheat Field" at Gettysburg, July 1863, attributed to Egbert Guy Fowx. There are several group portraits of soldiers and officers, often at camp, sitting or standing in front of tents; one features officers with women, presumably their wives or family members. Those identified include General Francis Preston Blair Jr. and staff; soldiers of the 8th New York State Militia at camp; 1st U.S. Cavalry at Brandy Station, Virginia; musical band of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry (Zouaves); and artillery of the Army of the Cumberland near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Other subjects are: General George G. Meade's headquarters; men building fortifications; a government coal wharf and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad roundhouse in Alexandria, Virginia; a bird's-eye-view of Washington, D.C. with the Capitol and Smithsonian Institute Building "The Castle"; and a panoramic image of "the field over which Pickett charged" by photographer William Bell. A few images include Black men in civilian clothing. The album is disbound, and three photographs have been matted and housed in Box 2.

photCL 307

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Collection of views of camps in the Civil War

Visual Materials

47 views, mostly color lithographs, of prisoner of war camps from the United States Civil War. A typewritten list of names of the camps on 3 leaves is included. Publishers represented include: L. N. Rosenthal and C. Baum of Philadelphia and J.H. Bufford of Boston.

105587

American Civil War research collection

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American Civil War research collection

Herbert William Singleton Collection of Civil War Photographs

Collection of Civil War photographs including views of City Point and Richmond

Photographs of Civil War generals and officers

Collection of Civil War photographs including war casualties

Collection of views of camps in the Civil War