Learn more about photography during the Civil War, from techniques used in the 1860s — including 3-D photography — to what photos can reveal about battles to tips on taking photos yourself on the battlefield.

This is a landscape image of a Civil War battlefield.

10 Facts: Civil War Photography

Learn about photography during the Civil War through these ten facts.
Wet Plate Development

Photography and the Civil War

An introduction to photography in the Civil War and how it brought the battlefield to the Homefront.
Photograph of Mathew Brady

Mathew Brady

This is a biography of Union Civil War photographer Mathew Brady. He is often referred to as the father of photojournalism.
Alexander Gardner's famous photo of Confederate dead before the Dunker Church on the Antietam Battlefield

Origins of Photojournalism

Although the history of photography begins in antiquity with the projection of images via camera obscura, the first, unsuccessful attempts to...
Photograph of Alexander Gardner

Alexander Gardner

Biography of Union Civil War Photographer Alexander Gardner
A collage of soldier letters and other images inspired by the Dead Letter Office.

Lost In the Mail: Dead Letter Office Photos

Not all Civil War letters and photographs met the hands of their target recipients, but the Dead Letter Office offered a second-chance of uniting...