The LOC.GOV Wise Guide : Portraits of the Civil War

The Civil War remains a perennial and favorite topic among professional and amateur historians alike. If you are familiar with American Memory, then you know that many of its more than 130 collections are dedicated to this seminal event in American history

Pvt. Francis E. Brownell of the Union Army, [between 1855 and 1865]

Portrait of Pvt. Walter Miles Parker, 1st Florida Cavalry, C.S.A.

You may not, however, have stumbled across the "Portraits of Named Enlisted Civil War Men" presentation from the Prints and Photographs Division. Here are all the known photographs in the organized collections of the Prints and Photographs Division that depict named Civil War soldiers with the rank of private, corporal or sergeant.

The division also has portraits of unidentified soldiers, portraits for which the sitter's rank is not known, as well as many portraits of officers of both high and low rank. Such images are not included in this list, but many can be found by searching the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, especially the Civil War Photographs and Brady-Handy collections.

A. Pvt. Francis E. Brownell of the Union Army, [between 1855 and 1865]. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction information: Reproduction No.: LC-DIG-cwpbh-00840 (digital file from original neg.); Call No.: LC-BH82- 1494 [P&P]

B. [Portrait of Pvt. Walter Miles Parker, 1st Florida Cavalry, C.S.A.], [between 1860 and 1865, re-photographed 1961]; Reproduction information: Reproduction No.: LC-B8184-10374 (b&w film copy neg.); Call No.: Civil War Reference File[P&P]