Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs

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About this Collection

New Photos Added! View the most recent additions

View: Confederate Images

View: Union Images

View: Women & Children

Summary: More than 1,000 special portrait photographs, called ambrotypes and tintypes, represent both Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The photographs often show weapons, hats, canteens, musical instruments, painted backdrops, and other details that enhance the research value of the collection. Among the most rare images are sailors, African Americans in uniform, Lincoln campaign buttons, and portraits of soldiers with their families and friends.

Tom Liljenquist and his sons Jason, Brandon, and Christian built this collection in memory of President Abraham Lincoln and the 620,000 Union and Confederate servicemen who died in the American Civil War. For many, these photographs are the last known record we have of who they were and what they looked like. See "From the Donor's Perspective--The Last Full Measure" for the full story.

The Liljenquist Family began donating their collection to the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division in 2010 and continues to add to it. In addition to the ambrotypes and tintypes, the collection also includes several manuscripts, patriotic envelopes, photographs on paper, and artifacts related to the Civil War.

View: Patriotic Envelopes & Letters

View: Paper Photos & Memorabilia

View: Photo Cases

New Resource! Glimpses of Soldiers' Lives
A set of essays offers glimpses of the lives of particular soldiers--what they ate and whom they missed, how far they marched in the mud, when they were wounded or captured or at last discharged. The biographies are accompanied by relevant photographs and drawings from Library of Congress collections that depict where individuals fought or were imprisoned.

An April 2011 exhibition of the collection, The Last Full Measure: Civil War Photographs from the Liljenquist Family Collection, commemorates the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War.

For ideas on using these photos with students, see the Library's Teaching With Primary Sources Journal, Winter 2012, Teacher Spotlight and the "Visual Arts" section of the article Teaching About the Civil War with Primary Sources Across Disciplines.

You can also enjoy this collection in Flickr, where public comments provide additional information about images in the set called Civil War Faces.

A slideshow of staff favorites is another good way to sample the collection.

Note: These photographs can be published without requesting permission.