Category: Civil Wars
Explore the human side of civil wars through authentic historical photographs. Witness the struggles, courage, and consequences of divided nations.
These images document key events and personal moments that shaped political and social transformations around the world.
-
#35 President Harding receives veterans of the Confederate Army who have been attending their annual reunion at Richmond, Va. 1922
Under the bright sun outside the White House, President Warren G. Harding stands at the center of a tightly packed group whose faces carry the long memory of the Civil War. Elderly veterans and companions crowd close in their best coats and hats, some decorated with reunion ribbons, while a few attendees wear period-style dresses…
-
#51 President Franklin D Roosevelt talking to Colonel Vance, an old Confederate veteran from the American Civil War, on the 75t anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
A small crowd presses in as President Franklin D. Roosevelt leans from his open car to clasp hands with Colonel Vance, described as an elderly Confederate veteran of the American Civil War. The veteran’s broad-brimmed hat, long white beard, and worn uniform details contrast sharply with the President’s dark suit and the polished lines of…
-
#13 Vehicles burn in the New Lodge Road area of Belfast when a crowd of about 200 set fire to cars, vans and lorries after an army scout car ran over and killed a five-year-old girl. 8 Feb, 1971
Smoke rises in a thick, rolling column along New Lodge Road in Belfast, swallowing the street in a dark haze as people gather in the foreground and along the edges of the scene. A tall block of flats looms to the left, its rigid rows of windows contrasting with the chaotic plume and the low,…
-
#29 A youth tarred and feathered tied to a lamp post in the Falls Road area of Belfast. He is one of three who received such treatment in the past 24 hours. 10 Jan, 1971
Under the harsh glare of street lighting in Belfast’s Falls Road area, a young man stands bound and bowed, his suit and hair clotted with tar and stuck with feathers. The camera’s flash turns the mess into a slick, almost metallic sheen, while his downcast face and slack posture speak louder than any caption. Behind…
-
#45 Children mocking an Army patrol in Belfast, July 1970.
On a busy Belfast street in July 1970, everyday routines continue in the shadow of a security presence, with pedestrians moving past shopfronts, railings, and street signs while an Army patrol occupies the curb. The patrol sits and stands in an open vehicle, kit and uniforms sharply outlined against the pavement, as traffic and a…
-
#61 Members of 321 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, with a defused 660lbs ammonium nitrate bomb, Omagh, 1974.
Five uniformed members of the 321 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, stand together outdoors in Omagh, framed by wet ground and heavy foliage, their posture relaxed in the aftermath of danger. Mud-splashed jackets and berets hint at field conditions rather than parade-ground ceremony, while a faint smile here and there suggests the…
-
#10 Dead horses surround the Trostle House, which Union Major General Daniel Sickles used as his headquarters, and which was the scene of fierce fighting during the Battle of Gettysburg, in early July, 1863
This haunting Civil War photograph shows the Trostle House on the Gettysburg battlefield, its white farmhouse and fenced yard rising behind a foreground strewn with dead horses. The quiet rural setting contrasts sharply with the evidence of recent violence, capturing the stark aftermath left on the ground after intense fighting.
-
#26 A field is strewn with the bodies of Confederates.
This stark Civil War photograph shows a quiet field strewn with the bodies of Confederates, captured in the aftermath of battle. In the foreground, fallen soldiers lie amid flattened grass and discarded gear, while the landscape recedes toward a dark tree line that frames the scene in somber contrast.
-
#42 Gen. Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy.
This historical photograph presents a formal portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, a leading figure of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Captured in a classic studio style, the image emphasizes his composed expression and dignified posture against a plain background.
-
#16 Greek commander General Vadzis holds a conference with General Van Fleet of the US and Major-General Down of Britain during the Greek Civil War, 1948.
Three uniformed officers stand close to a large map or planning board, their attention fixed on the same point as one of them extends an arm to indicate a position or route. The scene has the unmistakable feel of a wartime briefing: clipped gestures, serious faces, and the tight proximity of men used to making…