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civil war image archive

North Carolina Civil War Image Portfolio

Prints and Photographs

North Carolina Collection

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Image Categories

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African Americans
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Civilian Relief
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Confederate Veterans
Destruction and Pillage
Detention Facilities
Economic and Industrial Aspects
Equipment and Supplies
Government Officials
Historic Buildings
Medical Aspects
Military Facilities
Military Life
Naval Operations
Prisoners
Reconstruction
Regiments
Social Aspects
Surrenders
Union Soldiers
Women
North Carolina seceded from the Union on May 20, 1861, the last southern state to do so. Relatively early in the war, Union forces occupied areas along the North Carolina coast and sought to limit the flow of supplies to Confederate forces by means of a naval blockade of the state's ports. The most significant land battle fought in North Carolina was at Bentonville in Johnston County, on March 19-21, 1865, when Confederates, under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, made a vain attempt to thwart the advance of Union troops commanded by Gen. William T. Sherman. On April 18, nine days after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered the main Confederate army at Appommatox, Virginia, Johnston surrendered his forces to Sherman near Durham, N.C.

Images in the North Carolina Collection depicting the war are from woodcuts, engravings, lithographs, and photographs. The overwhelming majority of these were made by persons accompanying Union forces or were made from sketches and other information they provided. Numerous woodcuts appeared in publications based in the north such as Harper's Weekly and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. Lithographers, including Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives in New York City, produced hand-colored prints depicting Civil War events including some in North Carolina. The North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives has twenty-seven carte-de-visite prints attributed to Union photographer O. J. Smith made in New Bern about 1863, following the town's occupation. Most of the images owned by the Collection, regardless of format, are from a northern perspective and provide limited insight into life within the Confederacy. Even so, the images are significant historical documents.

Captions or image descriptions are grouped in categories by subject. Within each category, they are subdivided by county, town, and chronology.

Obtaining Copies of Images

Low resolution digital images included with the Civil War Portfolio are provided for reference purposes only. Information on obtaining copies and conditions for using them is available from the North Carolina Collection's Photographic Archivist. Black-and-white photographic prints in sizes from 5 x 7 inches to 20 x 24 inches may be purchased as well as high resolution digital copies and color transparencies. Inquiries should include image negative (Neg.) numbers.


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This page was last updated Wednesday, March 21, 2007.