The American Civil War (1861–65) is often cited as the first war with significant photographic coverage. This selection features many images credited to Matthew Brady (1822–1896), though he employed numerous field photographers, including George Barnard (1819–1902), Alexander Gardner (1821–1882), and Timothy O'Sullivan (1840–1882), who traveled with mobile darkrooms (example below) to capture the conflict. Gardner eventually opened his own studio (in competition with Brady) and published a two-volume work, Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, in 1865–66.

Field photographers during the American Civil War focused on camp sites, preparations, and portraits rather than "action" scenes. Many were working with large-format wooden field cameras on tripods and collodion on glass plates. Also known as the wet-plate process, the glass plate was coated with a collodion emulsion, sensitized with silver nitrate, exposed in the camera, and then developed—all before the emulsion dried. Exposure times in the camera could be relatively short (i.e., a few seconds in sunlight), but motion would still result in a blurred image. Thus, these war photographers depicted the aftermath of combat rather than the action itself.

Please note: This selection contains images of wartime violence, including a few photographs of wounded soldiers, soldiers killed in action, and gravesites.

Mellby, Julie L. “GARDNER’S PHOTOGRAPHIC SKETCH BOOK OF THE WAR.” The Princeton University Library Chronicle 67, no. 2 (2006): 435–40.

Noden, Merrell (Class of 1978). "A War Brought Home." Princeton Alumni Weekly. January 21, 2016.

(by Julie Mellby unless otherwise noted)