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The Spring 2025 Issue

A complete table of contents for the Spring 2025 issue of Military Images magazine, and information about how to purchase single issues and subscriptions.

Vol. XLIII, No. 2
(80 pages)

Print edition: Visit our store to check availability
Digital edition: Visit JSTOR.org to purchase
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Inside

Cover
A tintype from the Dan Schwab Collection pictures Confederate Col. Evander Mciver Law recuperating from the wound he suffered at the First Battle of Manassas.

Table of Contents (p. 1)

Editor’s Desk (p. 2)
After Kolt Massie alerted me about a tintype picturing Evander M. Law recovering from his First Manassas wound, I reflected on the thrill of Civil War photography discoveries.

Mail Call (pp. 3-4)
Feedback includes an appreciation for John Walsh’s Fort Donelson feature, Kurt Luther’s Photo Sleuth column, Paul Russinoff’s story about a Michigan cavalryman, and more.

Military Anthropologist (p. 4)
A review of shot fractures of limbs in The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion reveals the success rates of conservation, excision, and amputation.

Passing in Review (p. 6)
Righteous Strife by Richard Carwardine, published by Knopf Doubleday, explores how religious nationalism shaped Lincoln’s Union and the Civil War’s moral battles.

Photo Sleuth by Kurt Luther (pp. 8-10)
Photo sleuthing Civil War portraits requires triangulating names, units, and ages to ensure accurate IDs, revealing lost soldier stories and correcting mislabeling.

Antebellum Warriors (p. 12)
A daguerreotype of an unidentified 1840s-50s militia soldier showcases distinctive insignia, a Model 1840-style sword, and period-specific uniform details.

Most Hallowed Ground (p. 14)
Edmund C. Bainbridge, a career U.S. Army officer, served in key Civil War campaigns before retiring as a colonel. He was buried with honors at Arlington.

The Honored Few (p. 16)
At Petersburg, John W. Boutwell of the 18th New Hampshire Infantry rescued a wounded comrade. Decades later, he and another soldier received the Medal of Honor.

The Citizenry (p. 18)
Love of country fills this portrait of a patriotic woman, likely a fundraising image from the 1864 Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, featuring the Old Guard’s flag and liberty cap.

Of Arms and Men by Phil Spaugy (pp. 20-22)
Colonel Lew Wallace found a dead Confederate’s ornate Tryon & Co. muzzle-loading rifle at Fort Donelson in 1862, and took it home as a battlefield souvenir.

Wounded Warriors: Slings, crutches, and missing limbs are emblems of personal ;pass and patriotic sacrifice(pp. 22-36)
A photographic survey of Civil War amputees and other wounded soldiers and sailors, their societal impact, medical treatment, and portraits of the veterans.

Gifted Scholar, Faithful Christian, Reluctant Soldier: The life and times of Virginia professor and artillerist Lewis Minor Coleman by Ronald S. Coddington, with images from the Dave Batalo Collection (pp. 38-45)
Lewis Minor Coleman, an educator turned Confederate officer, sought to balance duty, faith, and the horrors of war. His service culminated at Fredericksburg.

A Useful Life: Sarah Chamberlin Eccleston, Civil War nurse and educator by Sidney Dreese (pp. 46-48)
Sallie Chamberlin defied age restrictions to serve as a Civil War nurse, later pioneering kindergarten education in Argentina. She lived a life of service.

Cruising the Potomac and Elsewhere with Brig. Gen. John P. Slough’s Brigade Band by Ronald S. Coddington, with images from the Mark Jones Collection (pp. 50-55)
Formed from the 60th New York Infantry, Slough’s Brigade Band played at key Civil War events in Alexandria, Va., and Washington, D.C.

Winslow’s Homer’s Use of Portrait Photographs in Civil War Era Illustrations by Rick and Victoria Britton (pp. 57-60)
A recently discovered sketch of Gen. Montgomery Meigs adds to Winslow Homer’s rich artistic legacy. The famed Civil War illustrator captured wartime life in Harper’s Weekly.

Wherever He Went, He Found History: Remembering Alex de Quesada, 1965-2024 by Ronald S. Coddington(pp. 62-64)
Alex de Quesada (1965-2024) was a passionate historian, collector, and author, known for his militaria expertise, vast artifact collection, and love of Star Wars.

Material Culture by Frank Graves (p. 66)
An early 1840s daguerreotype features an unknown man holding a U.S. Model 1805 Harpers Ferry flintlock pistol, the first military handgun made by a U.S. national armory.

Women of War by Melissa A. Wynn (pp. 68-69)
Clara Barton, Civil War nurse and founder of the Missing Soldiers Office, helped families locate lost loved ones and later established the American Red Cross.

Behind the Backdrop by Dave Batalo (p. 70)
A look at a painted camp and forts backdrop that appears in Confederate soldier portraits; it may be connected to a Fredericksburg photographer.

Vignette by Scott Valentine (p. 72)
First Lt. and Adjutant Orett Munger of the 44th New York Infantry was captured at Laurel Hill but freed by Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s cavalry. After the Civil War he settled in Chicago.

Stragglers (p. 74)
Confederate and Union soldiers pose for portraits, showcasing unique uniforms, tinting, and photography techniques by Charles R. Rees and other artists.

The Last Shot (p. 80)
A Confederate captain poses in a rustic studio scene with a tree-trunk chair and table, holstered sidearm, and missing coat button.

The Spring 2024 issue

A complete table of contents for the Spring 2024 issue of Military Images magazine, and information about how to purchase single issues and subscriptions.

Vol. XLII, No. 2
(80 pages)

Print edition: Visit our store to check availability
Digital edition: Visit JSTOR.org to purchase
Subscribe or renew your subscription

Explore the MI Archives:
Browse | Advanced search | Tutorial

Inside

Cover image
An ambrotype from the Liljenquist Family Collection at the Library of Congress features an unidentified Maryland Confederate.

Table of Contents (p. 1)

Editor’s Desk (p. 2)
Introducing a new column, Women of War by Melissa A. Winn, and a new stop (York, Pa.) for our traveling exhibit.

Mail Call (pp. 3-4)
Feedback includes more about Herb Peck Jr.’s stolen collection and praise for the magazine.

Military Anthropologist (p. 4)
When Did We Start Calling It the Civil War? A survey of names for the conflict between 1861 and 1865 on Newspapers.com reveals nomenclature changes over time.

Passing in Review (p. 6)
In Dear Uncles: The Civil War Letters of Arthur McKinstry, a Soldier in the Excelsior Brigade, Rick Barram tells the story of a young reporter-soldier.

Photo Sleuth by Kurt Luther (pp. 8-10)
Sharon Karam posted a question on the Facebook page Civil War Faces about an unnamed cadet photo, which led to a connection to the early days of Virginia Tech.

Antebellum Warriors (p. 12)
Scottish immigrants to the U.S. in the 19th century brought a rich military tradition, as evidenced by the uniform in this circa 1859 portrait of a militiaman.

Most Hallowed Ground (p. 16)
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Rufus Saxton nearly lost his life as he marched captured pro-secession militia through St. Louis. He went on to become a respected general.

The Honored Few (p. 18)
Major General Manning Ferguson Force called for a flag of truce to rally Union troops at the Battle of Atlanta. He got a truce flag instead. He was not happy.

The Citizenry (p. 20)
A circa 1871 photograph of a member of the Ku Klux Klan captured by U.S. law enforcement in Tishomingo County, Mississippi. The men turned state’s evidence.

Divided Maryland: Portraits and stories from the Jonathan Beasley Collection (pp. 23-41)
Representative portraits of the 60,000 Union and 25,000 Confederate soldiers and sailors who served in the U.S. and C.S. military forces during the Civil War.

King’s Knight to King 7 by Ron Maness (pp. 44–51)
Investigating connections between Confederate agent Caleb Huse in Europe, President Jefferson Davis and the James T. Ames Company during the Civil War.

Origins of Invalid Detachments and Invalid Corps by Bret Schweinfurth (pp. 53-55)
A series of War Department general orders issued between March and June 1863 trace the evolution of Invalid Detachments and the Invalid Corps.

Brooklyn Honors Its Boys In Blue: A history of the Brooklyn Service Medal by Richard Leisenring Jr. (pp. 56-60)
Brooklyn, New York, Mayor Alfred M. Wood championed one of the nation’s first service medals for Civil War veterans. The soldiers received the honor in 1866.

For the Sporting Man: A concise history of mail order erotica in the Civil War by Elizabeth A. Topping(pp. 62-65)
Mail order erotica tripled during the Civil War. In 1865 the government passed laws to seize and destroy pornographic photos and other images deemed obscene.

Material Culture by Ron Field (pp. 68-69)
The uniform of the First Light Infantry of Providence, R.I., dates to organization’s 1818 founding. Author Ron Field examines the dress and fatigue uniforms.

Behind the Backdrop by Adam Ochs Fleischer (p. 70)
The Caribbean Plantation Backdrop by Henry G. Pearce of Providence, R.I., features a unique scene that is open to thought-provoking interpretations.

Women of War by Melissa A. Winn (pp. 72-73) 
Civil War vivandière Marie Tepe, known as “French Mary,” suffered a wound at the Battle of Fredericksburg and received the Kearney Cross for Chancellorsville.

Vignette: Episodes of the Civil War by Scott Valentine (p. 74)
Captain George Emerson of the 67th Ohio Infantry suffered wounds at Fort Wagner in 1863 and Bermuda Hundred in 1864. The second proved mortal.

Stragglers (p. 76)
Confederate veteran and artist Allen Christian Redwood of the 1st Maryland Cavalry saw much of the Civil War, as reflected in his postwar illustrations.

The Last Shot (p. 80)
A carte de visite of a Veteran Reserve Corps first lieutenant covering the lower part of his face with a book.

The Official Launch of Civil War Photo Sleuth

Kurt Luther, pictured here, in the moment he launched our Civil War Photo Sleuth software on August 1 in the Innovation Lab at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Kurt (head of CWPS), Ron Coddington (editor of Military Images magazine), and the rest of the team introduced guests throughout the day to the website to learn how to identify unknown Civil War photos, find photos of Civil War ancestors, and add identified photos to our reference database.

Attendees included Garry Adelman of the Civil War Trust and the Center for Civil War Photography, Melissa Winn of Civil War Times, Karen Chittenden from the Library of Congress and Tom Liljenquist, whose collection is part of the Library of Congress.

Images and live video of the event were carried on Facebook.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. CWPS is a historic moment for anyone interested in Civil War soldier and sailor photography.

Countdown to the Launch of Civil War Photo Sleuth

Thrilled to announce the public launch of our Civil War Photo Sleuth software in less than two weeks! This software uses face recognition and crowdsourcing to provide powerful new tools for photo research.

To celebrate, we are hosting a launch party Wednesday, Aug. 1, at the U.S. National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. Kurt Luther (head of CWPS), Ron Coddington (editor of Military Images), and the rest of the team will be there. We can help you use the website, identify unknown Civil War photos, find photos of Civil War ancestors, and add identified photos to our reference database.

Both the website and party are completely free and open to all. If you are thinking of coming, please RSVP here (required for security reasons): https://goo.gl/forms/D59pFqZgWn35YF8z2 Hope that many of you can join us!

Make your plans now!

MI on Medium

mi-mediumVisit Military Images on Medium and read the first two installments of Photo Sleuth by Kurt Luther:

Medium is, according to its founders, “A beautiful space for reading and writing — and little else. The words are central. They can be accompanied by images to help illustrate your point. But there are no gratuitous sidebars, plug-ins, or widgets.”

MI is utilizing Medium’s space for words—and images! Check it out: https://medium.com/military-images