Unidentified soldier in Union uniform, betw. 1861 and 1865.
All images are digitized | All jpegs/tiffs display outside Library of Congress | View All
About this Collection
New Photos Added! View the most recent additions to the Liljenquist Family Collection.
View: Confederate Images | Union Images
Summary: More than 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs highlight both Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The Liljenquist Family sought out striking images, especially young enlisted men. The photographs often show weapons, hats, canteens, musical instruments, painted backdrops, and other details that enhance the research value of the collection. Among the most rare images are sailors, African Americans in uniform, a Lincoln campaign button, and portraits of soldiers with their families and friends.
Some soldiers are identified. But most of the people in the photos have no names. Please let us know if you recognize a regiment, a face from your family, or a photographer's painted studio backdrop! See the Suggestion Form for Prints & Photographs Cataloging Data to make a submission.
Tom Liljenquist and his sons Jason, Brandon, and Christian donated the entire collection to the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division in 2010 and continue to add to it. Brandon has described how and why the family gathered the photographs in "From the Donor's Perspective--The Last Full Measure." In addition to the ambrotypes and tintypes, the collection also includes several manuscripts, patriotic envelopes, photographs on paper, and artifacts related to the Civil War.
An April 2011 exhibition of the collection, The Last Full Measure: Civil War Photographs from the Liljenquist Family Collection, commemorates the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War.
You can also enjoy this collection in Flickr, where public comments provide additional information about images in the set called Civil War Faces.
A slideshow of staff favorites is another good way to sample the collection.
Note: These photographs can be published without requesting permission.
