TITLE: Civil War Photographs: The Liljenquist Family Collection
SPEAKER: Various Speakers
EVENT DATE: 07/22/2010
FORMAT: Video + Captions
RUNNING TIME: 4 minutes
TRANSCRIPT: View Transcript (link will open in a new window)
DESCRIPTION:
Close to 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs highlight both Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. The Liljenquist Family sought out high quality images to represent the impact of the war, especially the young enlisted men. The photographs often show hats, firearms, canteens, musical instruments, painted backdrops, and other details that enhance the research value of the collection. Among the rarest images are African Americans in uniform, sailors, a Lincoln campaign button, and portraits of soldiers with their wives and children. A few personal stories survived in notes pinned to the photo cases, but most of the people and photographers are unidentified. Tom Liljenquist donated the entire collection to the Library in 2010.
