Archive

Displaying 1 - 6 / 6 Search Results

Constructing telegraph lines, American Civil War, April 1864

Constructing telegraph lines, American Civil War, April 1864

Taken on 1864-04-01

Not long after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 President Abraham Lincoln ordered seventy-five thousand troops to assemble in Washington, D.C. On April 19, 1861, Harpers Ferry,Virginia (which was along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) was captured by Confederate troops. Thus, Washington lost one of its only railroad and telegraphic communications route to the North. The only railroad and telegraph lines connecting the Northern states to Washington left were located in Maryland, a state whose loyalty to the Union was not trusted. The Telegraph Construction Corps were charged with the dangerous job of building telegraph lines in the field during battles. Consisting of about one hundred fifty men, the Telegraph Construction Corps set out in wagon trains to construct temporary lines. During a battle, one wagon was stationed at the starting point of the battle to act as a receiving station, while another wagon traveled into the field to be a sending station.

Source: Archives.gov

Uploaded by Matlindsay on 2014-12-12

US Civil War 'Pine Cottage' Winter Quarters, United States (Date Unknown)

US Civil War 'Pine Cottage' Winter Quarters, United States (Date Unknown)

Taken on 1864-01-01

(Date not provided)

Source: Archives.gov

Uploaded by Matlindsay on 2014-12-12

Engineers of the 8th N.Y. State Militia, American Civil War, 1864

Engineers of the 8th N.Y. State Militia, American Civil War, 1864

Taken on 1864-01-01

1864. The soldiers are seated reading letters and papers and playing cards. (Exact Date Unknown)

Source: Archives.gov

Uploaded by Matlindsay on 2014-12-12

Washington, District of Columbia. Tent Life During US Civil War, 1863

Washington, District of Columbia. Tent Life During US Civil War, 1863

Taken on 1863-06-30

Washington, District of Columbia. Tent life of the 31st Penn. Inf. (later, 82d Penn. Inf.) at Queen's farm, vicinity of Fort Slocum. This photograph was cropped on the right side, the original can be found in the Library of Congress. I think this was the second of two photographs taken, since more on-lookers are gathered in the background. UNION PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 31st Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry Militia (Emergency, 1863) Organized at Harrisburg June 30, 1863, for the protection of Pennsylvania against Lee's invasion. Duty in the Dept. of the Susquehanna. Mustered out August 8, 1863.

Source: David Foster/Flickr

Uploaded by Matlindsay on 2014-12-11

Engineers of the 8th New York State Militia in front of a tent, 1861

Engineers of the 8th New York State Militia in front of a tent, 1861

Exact date taken unknown

"Engineers of the 8th New York State Militia in front of a tent, 1861. Ill-B-499. National Archives Identifier: 524918"

Source: US National Archives Catalog

Uploaded by SamiGoat on 2018-05-29

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln with Union Troops; Antietam, U.S. Civil War, 1863

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln with Union Troops; Antietam, U.S. Civil War, 1863

Exact date taken unknown

The Battle of Antietam, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, was not the conclusive Union victory President Lincoln had desperately hoped for. Still it was enough of a win for him to issue his preliminary emancipation proclamation, which stated that on January 1, 1863, all slaves in states still in rebellion would be free. Yet in the days immediately after the battle, Lincoln became distressed at General George B. McClellan’s failure to pursue Lee’s retreating army. In early October, Lincoln visited McClellan at his headquarters at Antietam to urge him personally to attack. This photograph of Lincoln with McClellan and his staff was one of several taken on October 3 and is a rare view of Lincoln at the front.

Source: CivilWar@Smithsonian

Uploaded by SamiGoat on 2016-02-12