How can I search for Civil War photographs?
Answer
The Civil War may have been the first conflict to be extensively documented by photography.
Although we hold a number of collections that include photographs of Ohioans in the Civil War, very few are identified by company or regiment. Even fewer are identified by individual soldiers. You will find some information on photograph research, strategies and links to many of Ohio’s Digital Image Collections here: Getting Started - Photograph Research - LibGuides at Ohio History Connection.
A good strategy for searching for Civil War Photographs is to search for the regiment’s number, such as 134th AND OVI or 134th AND Infantry; of 8th AND OVC or 8th AND cavalry. Using different combinations of search terms may bring different results.
Check out: Searching for Photos of Civil War Soldiers – The Center for Civil War Photography
Other major collections of Civil War photographs can be found at the National Archives and the Library of Congress. You may want to search their online collections or contact them directly.
Civil War Records: Basic Research Sources | National Archives
Civil War - Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress)
Another strategy is to research the units in which they served. Published sources sometimes include photographs. If you are not familiar with Larry Stevens’ website, Ohio in the Civil War, he has compiled a bibliography of known published sources for each Ohio regiment.