Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories

by Ronald S. Coddington, Michael Fellman (Foreword)

Archival images and biographical sketches of Union soldiers tell the stories of their lives during and after the Civil War. Before going off to fight in the Civil War, many soldiers on both sides of the conflict posed for a carte de visite , or visiting card, to give to their families, friends, or sweethearts. Invented in 1854 by a French photographer, the carte de visite was a small photographic print roughly the size of a modern trading card. The format arrived in America on the eve of the Civil War, which fueled intense demand for the convenient and affordable keepsakes. Considerable numbers of these portrait cards of Civil War soldiers survive today, but the experiences―and often the names―of the individuals portrayed have been lost to time. A passionate collector of Civil War–era photography, Ron Coddington became intrigued by these anonymous faces and began to research the history behind them in military records, pension files, and other public and personal documents. In Faces of the Civil War , Coddington presents 77 cartes de visite of Union soldiers from his collection and tells the stories of their lives during and after the war. The soldiers portrayed were wealthy and poor, educated and unschooled, native-born and immigrant, urban and rural. All were volunteers. Their personal stories reveal a tremendous diversity in their experience of many served with distinction, some were captured, some never saw combat while others saw little else. The lives of those who survived the war were even more disparate. While some made successful transitions back to civilian life, others suffered permanent physical and mental disabilities, which too often wrecked their families and careers. In compelling words and haunting pictures, Faces of the Civil War offers a unique perspective on the most dramatic and wrenching period in American history.

Genres: Civil War, History

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[M. Apple]

Very interesting. I got this as more or less a reference (also curious whether any of my ancestors were here...there weren't, but two people who were in the Civil War with them are). We often forget that wars are fought by the little people in the place of the rich who pay to stay away. This book shows not only the little people, but also how war continued to torment their lives well after the fighting was over.

[Jean]

This is a fascinating account of the military and post-military lives of Union soldiers, all triggered by the author's personal collection of Civil War "cartes de visite" photographs. From the Foreword: "For the few days in which the military are being enrolled,...the photographic galleries are thriving: the wise soldier makes his will, and seeks the photograph as possibly the last token of affection for the dear ones at home".

[Melissa Schlafli]

Very good book for Civil War buffs. The stories from the soldiers themselves were very interesting and show you what life was like on the battlefield! I enjoyed this book!

[Burt]

This was an enjoyable, short, and all too limited compendium of bibliographical information on a very limited number of Union Officers and soldiers. I suspect that a seriously delimiting factor was the amount of "digging" it probably took author Coddington to find all the carte de visite pictures. Then, to match each with just enough biographical information to give readers a sense of who the individual was before he got to the Union Army, a very brief recounting of his involvement in the War, and in some cases, what happened to him after the conflict ended would throw up a continuing barrier to expanding the breadth and depth of the piece. All of these limitations are clearly laid out by the author in both the Forward and the Preface, however, so the reader should have absolutely no misgivings at the outset.

This is a very fast and easy read, but it certainly does give one a fair sample of the "average" union soldier/officer as it comes to his sacrifice and involvement in our nation's most tragic moments in war.

[Ann]

This book changed my view of the Civil War. Photographs of soldiers and simple, short biographies bring home the incredible sacrifice that they made and the sometimes devastating impact on their families.

[Straw]

beautiful photographs