Confederate General Robert E Lee, General-in-chief of all Confederate forces. Originally asked to lead Union forces, he had to decline because he felt he could not raise his hand in violence against his fellow Virginians.
Confederate troops dead in trenches at the battle of Chancellorsville, MD. The gore seen in these photos gave the world a first look at the horror of war, something previously always romanticized.
Amputation of a limb that has been shot being performed at Gettysburg. Amputations were necessary because of the lack of an ability to keep a wound from becoming infected.
Unidentified Southern woman in mourning dress and wearing brooch that portrays a confederate soldier, holding an infant with confederate soldier’s hat. This probably means the woman’s husband dies in battle, leaving her and their little baby behind alone.
Ruins after a battle seen from the Circular Church, Charleston, S.C.
Three different photographs of Peter, a slave from Louisiana, in around 1863. The scars are a result of a whipping by his overseer, who was subsequently fired by the master. These photographs were widely distributed in the North during the war. Sometimes going by the name Gordon, Peter later fought on the Union side in the war.
A group of freed or (escaped slaves) usually called “contrabands” in front of a building in Cumberland Landing, Virginia, on May 14, 1862.
Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. General Lee’s right hand man, Jackson served in several campaigns, but during the Battle of Chancellorsville he was accidentally shot by his own troops, losing an arm to amputation. He died of complications of pneumonia eight days later.
Residents walk through the ruins of Richmond, Virginia, in April of 1865. Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during the majority of the Civil War. After a long siege led by Union General Grant, the city was left in shambles.