Original Photographs Taken on the Battlefields during the Civil War of the United States
John Stuart Mill · en
[Illustration: SURGEONS ADMINISTERING TO THE WOUNDED]
[Illustration: LIVES SACRIFICED FOR THEIR COUNTRY]
[Illustration: BURIAL OF THE DEAD HEROES]
PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN ON THE BATTLEFIELDS DURING THE CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED
STATES
In the Civil War the heart of American Citizenship was put to the test
and it was found "tried and true." The first call for volunteers came on
April 15, 1861 for 75,000 militia for three months, and 91,816 men
answered. The second call was on May 3, 1861, when Lincoln asked for
500,000 men and the reply was 700,680. The third call on July 2, 1862
for 300,000 troops for three years' service to their country brought
421,465. The fourth call on August 4, 1862, for nine months' service met
the response of 87,588 men. Under the fifth proclamation, on June 15,
1863, for militia for six months' service, the ranks were recruited by
16,361 men. The calls of October 17, 1863, and February 1, 1864, brought
369,380 men. Under the call of March 14, 1864, came 292,193 men; between
April 23 and July 18, 1864, there were 83,612 mustered into the United
States' service. Lincoln's appeal to the manhood of the Nation on July
18, 1864 was met by 386,461 men. The last call for volunteers came on
December 19, 1864, and 212,212 patriots marched to the battle ground to
help strike the last blow of the conflict. The willingness with which
these men offered their lives to their country is the greatest tribute
that can ever be paid to American patriotism. After the disasters on the
Peninsula over 80,000 troops were enlisted, organized, armed, and
marched to the battleground within four weeks. An army of 90,000
infantry came to the front from the five states of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, within twenty days. In many instances
over 60,000 recruits fell into line in less than a month. At the last
moment of the War, and to the very scene of surrender, thousands of men
were pouring into the field.
If the world could have looked upon the marvelous spectacle of all the
men who took part in the Civil War, marching five abreast, the
triumphant procession would have stretched from the Atlantic, across the
Continent, to the Pacific--a grand pageant of 1,696 regiments, six
companies infantry; 272 regiments, two companies cavalry; 78 regiments,
two companies artillery. The boys who wore the Gray could have
intercepted this procession by another magnificent pageant reaching from
the Canadian borders to the mountains of Mexico.
The war cameras during 1864 were taxed to their utmost. It was the
hardest test that had ever been given the new science of photography.
The thrilling story of this closing year is told in the rare old
negatives in these pages--actual photographs taken at the scene of
battle.