The Photographic History of the Civil War is a 10-volume compilation of war photography of the American Civil War of 1861–1865. Published in 1911 for the semi-centennial of the beginning of the war, a hard copy weighs but the work is in the public domain and has been digitized for use online. The lead editor was Francis Trevelyan Miller, who "conducted a nationwide hunt for old photos." The work is considered a "landmark" and "the bible of Civil War photography." It remains a crucial reference resource for historians and is considered a classic work in the field. A 1963 bibliography called it "the great photographic source work for the war...The text has many errors, but the photographs are superb."
An 1988 bibliography retold a bit of the history of the compilation:
By the early 1950s it was "long out of print" but the "desideratum" of avid Civil War collectors and historians; reprinting was considered but it was determined that it would be an "economic impossibility." There was a five-volume reprint published in 1957 with an introduction by Henry Steele Commager.
Volume titles: The Opening Battles. Two Years of Grim War. The Decisive Battles. The Cavalry. Forts and Artillery. The Navies. Prisons and Hospitals. Soldier Life and Secret Service. Poetry and Eloquence. Armies and Leaders. A significant later effort to collect photos of the American Civil War was the National Historical Society's The Image of War, 1861–1865 in six volumes.
See also
Photographers of the American Civil War
Bibliography of the American Civil War
A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865 (1888) War of the Rebellion Atlas (1895)
