Captain Augustus C. Thompson 1828-1908.  Commanded Company G “Jackson County Volunteers,” 16th Georgia Infantry. He was wounded in the left thigh in action on 14 September 1862 at Crampton's Gap.  "But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go." - Thomas Jefferson discussing slavery.

Two Unidentified Soldiers in Confederate Uniforms in front of the Matthews House at The Battlefield of Bull Run.  Many soldiers kept diaries, Before the charge at Bull Run, one soldier wrote in his diary, "Morning, June 3rd. I died today."

Sgt. James Morrison 7th N.Y.S.M. aka Silk Stocking Regiment, due to a disproportionate number of its members who were part of NYC's social elite, the 7th Militia was a pre-war unit that was mustered into federal service for the Civil War. Subsequently becoming the National Guard, Sgt Morrison policed the NYC Draft Riots resulting from the Enrollment Act of 1863.

Private William Anthony Holland of Co. K, 10th Virginia Cavalry Regiment with Bowie knife and Colt Army Model 1860 Revolver.

According to witnesses, during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862, the peach blossoms in Sarah Bell’s Orchard, cut down by bullets and cannons, fell like snow,  blanketing the bodies of the soldiers.

Born in Virginia, William joined the Confederate Army in Richmond in 1862 and is listed on the postwar roster as being Wounded in Action and receiving a pension. William lived until the age of 92!

Unidentified Soldier with Arm in a Sling - It has long been a myth that The Battle of Gettysburg was fought over a shipment of shoes housed at the Gettysburg Shoe Factory! Not only was there not a shoe factory in Gettysburg in 1863, but both armies did not engage in 3 days of battle to gain control of a mythical shipment of shoes—even though the Confederates were in dire need of them! 

Unidentified African American Soldier in Union Cavalry Uniform with Sergeant's Chevron Stripes.  He is placed in front of an illustration of a Slave Pen taken from the January 1863 edition of Harper's Weekly that I have digitally painted. It was overly dangerous for African Americans to join the fight since, unlike their white counterparts, they would most likely be executed upon capture.

Two Union and One Confederate Soldier. Left to right - Pvt William Sargent of Co. E, 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, in uniform, after amputation of both arms upon being wounded at the battle of Seven Pines, VA, Unidentified Soldier in 1st Lieutenant's Uniform, red sash, leather gauntlets, and spurs with cavalry sword, Unidentified Soldier of 1st Scotch Regiment, 12th Illinois Infantry Regiment in sack coat and Tam O'Shanter Cap at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, MO.

Unidentified Sailor in Union Uniform.  This is not Lt. William Cushing, but this Sailor could have served on his boat.  In the background, the CSS Albemarle.  

The Albemarle was a steam powered, Confederate, ironclad gunboat ram, (basically a wooden hulled ship clad in iron) with 2 pivot rifles (these looked like cannons) protected by heavy iron shutters. After a year and a half of construction, she sailed down-river toward Plymouth, North Carolina. After several skirmishes and the Battle of Albemarle Sound, in which the Albemarle survived more than 500 shots fired from Union Warships, she sailed up to Plymouth with battle damage, where she dominated the Roanoke and the approaches to Plymouth through the summer of 1864.

By autumn, the U. S. government decided that something should be done so Lieutenant William B. Cushing piloted 2 Pickett boats (30’ long, small naval crafts usually used for harbor patrol and other close inshore work). On each he mounted a howitzer (a cannon with a smooth curved shape and a short barrel) and a 14-foot spar torpedo (a bomb placed at the end of a long pole) projecting into the water from its bow. One of the boats was lost at sea but the other arrived safely with its crew of seven officers and men at the mouth of the Roanoke. Under heavy fire, Lt.  Cushing rode up with his spar against the Albemarle's hull, stood up and pulled the lanyard, detonating the torpedo. The explosion threw Cushing and his men overboard into the water; where Cushing survived, swimming to shore. Another of his men escaped, while two were drowned and the remaining were captured.

Cushing and this small Pickett, single handedly with a hand-held torpedo, sunk the Albemarle while 6 larger warships could not. 

Depicted here is Cushing’s Pickett Boat with this Unidentified Sailor at its helm.

Private Charles H Ruff of Co G, F and S, 2nd Texas Infantry Regiment in Uniform, placed in front of the illustration "Execution of a Deserter" from the 1862 edition of the London News which I have digitally painted. Born in Germany and emigrating to the U.S. at 17 with his brother, Charles was conscripted into Confederate service at 29 and ended up at Vicksburg where he became a POW but was paroled and rejoined. Charles was promoted to full QM with the rank of Captain. After the war he married and had 3 children. Charles died at the age of 58 and is buried in Sealy Cemetery.

Sergeant Tom Strawn of Company B, 3rd U.S. Colored Troops Heavy Artillery Regiment standing in front of the 55th Massachusetts who are singing John Brown's March in the streets of Charleston.  

By the end of 1863, some 37,000 African-Americans had enlisted in the Union Army, in fifty-eight segregated regiments known as the United States Colored Troops. Some escaped from enslavement to join the war effort once the government made it legal for black men to serve. Others were free men who joined the military specifically to fight for an end to slavery.

Private William H Presgraves of Co. K, 97th Militia, Virginia Infantry Regiment with rifle. The rifle Pvt Presgraves is holding is called a Wickham Flintlock Musket.  These muskets were borrowed from a 1777 French design and used primarily during the War of 1812. They were eventually converted to be more reliable and weather resistant, however, the models made before 1821 were considered too outdated so were not converted.  Most of them were in southern arsenals and a large number of Confederate soldiers for the first year of the Civil War, had the misfortune of carrying these flintlock muskets. Therefore, this image of Pvt Presgraves must have been taken between 1861 and 1862.   A notation in ink on a manuscript at the Library of Congress reads "William Presgraves, son of John H Presgraves and ____ Fleming of Luray, VA, born about 1845 and died ____, fought in the Confederate Army.

Pvt Parris P Casey of Co. I "Cherokee Rangers" (being that most of the men in the Company were from Cherokee County), 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment.  The 19th Alabama was formed in Huntsville, AL in August 1861 and consisted of 2,781 men upon formation.  Records indicate that Private Casey was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh and died in the hospital in April 1862, however, the LOC records show his birth and death as 1839-1863.  When his Unit surrendered at the end of the war, only 76 men remained. 

Pvt. Francis E. Brownell - 11th NY Infantry in a Zouave Uniform.  The black cloth tied to his left arm is in mourning for his commanding officer Col. Ellsworth who was fatally shot by James Jackson for taking a Confederate flag from the roof of the Marshall House Inn in Alexandria, VA.   On May 24, 1861, Brownell shot Jackson in retaliation and was subsequently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor - the only federally sponsored medal given during the Civil War (shown pinned to his chest). This particular medal was not showing in the original photo, however, many others were.  Perhaps because Brownell returned the medal for a short time to have it inscribed.

Five unidentified soldiers in Union uniforms seated with stacked bayoneted rifle muskets and smoking cigars.