Earlier this year, I shared the mid-19th c. photograph of an ancestor of mine whose identity is uncertain beyond being family. Now the Library of Congress has a similar, if much larger, puzzle, and they're asking for your assistance to solve at least part of it.
Recently the Lijenquist Family donated their collection of almost 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs to the Library of Congress in remembrance of the thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers who served in the American Civil War (1861-1865). The images are nearly all of soldiers, as well as a few of their families. These pictures offer an immediate connection to the past: the subjects stare directly from the pictures, carefully posed for posterity in what, for many of them, must have been both their first and last portraits.
But over the years, many of the names of these young soldiers have been forgotten and lost. The Library of Congress has posted this album of the pictures on Flickr, hoping that viewers will be able to help offer names to match these brave faces. Can you help?
Above: Unidentified young soldier in Confederate uniform and Hardee hat with holstered revolver and artillery saber, Library of Congress
Wow, I could look at these for hours! What an amazing resource.
ReplyDeleteDon't they get to you!
ReplyDeleteYour post's title has it right. If they can't be individually identified, their name should be listed as Brave!
When I was in college I had the good fortune to spend a year sorting through documents at Ellis Island and the photos always slowed me down. Those intriguing faces from far away countries were beyond fascinating. This reminds me very much of that; thanks!
ReplyDeleteOooo, a few of them look like girls, I wonder if they are, or just really young boys.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing,
Solanah
It breaks my heart to see how young most of these soldiers were. The photos of modern soldiers affect me the same way, trying so hard to look brave when they're still such babies.
ReplyDeleteIt really is heartbreaking to see how young some of them are. They look like they could be friends of my thirteen year old.
ReplyDelete