MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page

Civil War Scouts: 1865
... at Secret Service headquarters in the last months of the war." Wet plate glass negative. View full size. Black Scouts for the South? I am not sure what Civil Scouts did for the Southern state, Virginia, but two of those scouts are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/21/2014 - 12:47pm -

1865. "City Point, Virginia. Scouts at Secret Service headquarters in the last months of the war." Wet plate glass negative. View full size. Black Scouts for the South?I am not sure what Civil Scouts did for the Southern state, Virginia, but two of those scouts are black. [This is a Union encampment. - Dave] Who's next on watch?Definitely low-tech secret service here. Note the shortwave aerial cleverly disguised as a washing line. Like a Time MachineSome photos are just so extraordinary, that comments don't suffice... this photo is fascinating on so many levels. First, it's an excellent quality photo- clear and sharp. Second, the people aren't posed stiffly, but are sitting or standing naturally (ok, the guy in the beard is a little stiff). Every detail... their boots, pants, jackets, hats, faces, just bear investigation to gather clues about what life must have been like for them in the waning months of the war. The black scouts particularly must have amazing stories to tell, if they only could! How's the weather up there?The tall fellow on the right looks like he could do all the scouting just by looking over the crowd! Was he perhaps a body double for the vertically gifted President Lincoln? His SecretIs the shorter man standing Allan Pinkerton? Tag this photoDoes the tall guy on the Right qualify this picture for the tag "Handsome Rake"? (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War, Railroads)
Winnipesaukee Cannonball: 1906
... the period, though not always as fancy. -tterrace] Civil War monument Spent many happy days at the Weirs as a child. The 19th ct Mt. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/04/2015 - 10:32am -

Circa 1906. "Railway station at Weirs -- Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire." 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Still there!The station is still in use, selling tickets for cruises on the lake and for the scenic railroad trips that use these same tracks. Now with ample parking: A statue in the street?Is that a statue of a soldier leaning on his rifle directly in front of the speeding buggy, or a gas lamp hanging from the pole in the foreground? [Looks like a water fountain with provision for horses. A common kind of street furniture of the period, though not always as fancy. -tterrace] Civil War monumentSpent many happy days at the Weirs as a child. The 19th ct Mt. Washington still plies the lake. The Civil War monument and horse trough was located in front of the NH veterans home in the 1880s and was unfortunately struck by lightning and destroyed in the 30s. WaterThe name Winnipeg (the city where I was born) comes from both Cree and Ojibwe words for dirty or murky or muddy (wini) and water (nipi). Winnipesaukee is from the Abenaki language and is translated as the Smile of the Great Spirit but also Beautiful Water in a High Place or Good Smooth Water at Outlet. I favor the water option. And I suppose one person's murky is another person's beautiful. Shorpy's Guide to NH tourist traps continues!First Market Square, now The Weirs. Is Monadnock next? To clarify a previous post by nhman, the "19th ct" Mt Washington burned in 1939. The current Mt Washington II started life in 1888 on Lake Champlain. They chopped it up, put it on rail cars, and welded it back together at Lakeport to replace the burned out Mt Washington. Still pretty neat. And now that I'm fact checking it... The train station burned down at the same time. So I'm not so sure Hillary's street view is the same building. Still there but notThis is not the same building as the original picture. When the Mount burned at the dock the Depot building of that time was lost where the fire consumed the dock leading from the depot. This building that replaced that building was removed some time in the last 20 years. ID'ing the locomotiveI'm guessing that this is a Boston & Maine class C-17 4-6-0, based on the side view seen partway down this page. Lovely engine. My favorite locos by far are the high-wheeled passenger 4-6-0s and 4-4-2s from the early 20th century. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads)
Hanover Junction: 1863
... at depot." From photographs of the main Eastern theater of war, Gettysburg, June-July 1863. Wet plate glass negative by Mathew Brady or ... Railroad construction was still in its infancy during the Civil War. Most if not all rail was imported from Great Britian during this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/02/2009 - 8:28pm -

1863. "Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania. Passenger train at depot." From photographs of the main Eastern theater of war, Gettysburg, June-July 1863. Wet plate glass negative by Mathew Brady or his assistant. View full size. Look closerThere is a man in a stovepipe hat just to the right of the passenger train. A Beat-Up WorldIt always interests me to see how hammered and dilapidated everything looks in photos from this era. The train itself looks sharp and new, but man, those tracks! Imagine the ride. It's a wonder they didn't derail more than they did. The buildings look like they're barely holding together too. I know it's wartime and they had contstraints, but still, it's a harsh, dirty looking world. Wouldn't want to live there. Mr. LincolnSurely the recognition point for Mr. Lincoln at this period is not the hat but rather the beard. I'd have to say that this photo offers inconclusive proof if only because I can't tell if the man in the stovepipe hat has a beard or a black cravat. Maybe, maybe not.Another shot of the train, "purportedly showing Lincoln." In any case he does have that Lincolnesque hat. NovemberSummer? There are no leaves on the trees. The Gettysburg Daily (http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=1121) says the picture was taken on November 17, 1863 and shows Abraham Lincoln's train en route to the Gettysburg. Close to homeI think Lincoln stopped here on his way to Gettysburg. Hanover Junction Station todayhttp://www.yorkcountyparks.org/parkpages/Museum.htm Hanover Junction is about 10 miles east of Hanover. En RouteThis photo has been debated for years. Is it Lincoln in the photo, on his way to Gettysburg? [There's another photo of the station, minus the train, that shows half a dozen gents in Lincolnesque headgear. - Dave] Track GaugePerhaps it's just the angle of the camera or distortion of the lens, but is the gauge of the track on the left the same as the gauge of the track that the passenger train is on? I believe in 1863 there were still several gauges in use even in Pennsylvania. Perhaps someone could verify based on the location of the photo. Making tracksThe gauge is the same on all of the tracks at this location. Though narrow gauge was used extensively, it did not appear until 1870. There were some wide gauge lines in use and their gauge varied quite at bit from RR to RR. Railroad construction was still in its infancy during the Civil War. Most if not all rail was imported from Great Britian during this period. Typical weight in those days was about 35 pounds per yard, pretty flimsy by today's standards. Ties were hand hewn; flattened on two sides with an ax. Difficult work at best. Speaking of a beat up world ...I think if I was on the Junction Hotel balcony, I would be more than a little worried about the obvious sag in the middle. I wonder if you could feel it sink a bit as you walked across it? All smilesThe woman on the balcony in the light colored dress has the biggest smile I've ever seen in a photo this old. A rare Civil War smile!As already noted, there is a smile here you just have to see. Bless her! Beard or not to beard.Lincoln cultivated beards off and on his entire adulthood. He was without one when he was shot, by the way. (The Gallery, Civil War, Mathew Brady, Railroads)
Public Square: 1900
... Company tasting room perhaps? [What's inside the Civil War monument is addressed in the comments here . - Dave] May Co. redux ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/07/2023 - 11:19am -

Circa 1900. "City Square. Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Cleveland." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. The May Co. BuildingWow, looks like the predecessor of the modern curtain-wall design. Large lights of 1/4" plate glass no doubt. Would love to see some architectural drawings of that facade. Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul Soon to become The Milwaukee Road, with Hiawatha service to almost anywhere. Brook Stevens who designed their rail cars would have (maybe did) marveled at the May Co. building of the future. I'm marveling at in this picture. Probably 50 years before its time. No rebellious women?One would think there would have been at least one daring young woman who would have had the gumption to wear a black blouse with a light colored skirt, just to be a little outrageous and stand out, but nooooo. Times sure have changed in the area of seeking attention through outrageous fashion and personal appearance. Or maybe today's girls just feel more comfortable expressing themselves, which certainly does make street scenes more interesting. Where's the Cable Car?http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccohio.html#cccr According to the above link, the cable car slots under the trolley car were used for another year until 1901, even thought the St. Clair trolley car in the foreground had directly replaced the horsecars on its line in 1893. Western RailroadsTerryN, thanks for pointing out the CM&StP sign in the window. The same building also has signs for the Burlington Route and Rock Island. The interesting thing is that none of these railroads served Cleveland, at least not directly. They all went from Chicago westward. So their offices in Cleveland must have been for exchange of freight between eastern and western railroads, I suppose. Euclid BeachA year later, the Humphrey family would take over Euclid Beach Park east of the city, and turn it into a legend. You can still buy their popcorn at many stores in NE Ohio. The Edison patented lightbulb goes onAfter seeing so many flagless giant flagpoles on major buildings here on Shorpy, it finally dawned on me that they were not intended for a US flag, but for advertising/corporate ID, as can be seen here. Inside the Monument?It appears that there is a door leading into the monument itself. Does anyone know what this leads to and is the interior still accessible? Secret enterance to the Great Lakes Brewing Company tasting room perhaps? [What's inside the Civil War monument is addressed in the comments here. - Dave] May Co. reduxHere's a later view of the May Co. building, greatly expanded. One has to wonder if this postcard is again the work of Detroit Publishing. The gardensI like the surrounding gardens that have been made into the shapes of Unit or Division emblems and heroism awards. (The Gallery, Cleveland, DPC, Streetcars)
Military R.R.: 1865
... Railroad. From views of the main Eastern theater of war, the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865. Wet plate glass negative. ... tent at the time. His books have photos taken during the Civil War and then the same scene in modern times. Ironclad In regard to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 8:53pm -

City Point, Virginia, circa 1865. "Gen. J.C. Robinson" and other locomotives of the U.S. Military Railroad. From views of the main Eastern theater of war, the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865. Wet plate glass negative. View full size. Robinson ahead by a nose Seems that the Lt. Genl. Grant is running a close second. The named locomotives are from the Wm. Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Mass. The engine ahead of both seems unnamed. Might be an "American" locomotive or a Wm. Mason. LocationThe terrain and the enormity of the facilities in place makes me almost certain that this was taken at City Point, Virginia, the Union's main supply depot for the area at the time. [Another clue would be the first three words of the caption. - Dave] Who's DrivingThe engineer is definitely not Buster Keaton. Any ideawhat the black things are in the upper right hand portion of the picture? When I looked at the blown up picture it looked a little bit like a lot of black socks hanging on a clothesline but that's obviously incorrect. [It's a scratch in the emulsion. - Dave] A bigger nameHard for me to see, but appears to be "Lt Gen. US Grant" on loco behind the Robinson machine. I am amazed at the hillside, ships and living conditions of the period. Grant's Iron HorseSaturday we saw Grant's horse "Cincinnati;" today we see Grant's Iron Horse, "Lt. Genl. Grant," on the left. Union IroncladA turret of a Union ironclad can be seen in the background over the top of the pier-side warehouse. This could be the USS Onondaga, which was stationed at City Point to prevent Confederate ironclads from breaking out of the James River and attacking the supply base. The problem is that the USS Onondaga had two turrets and I only see one. Grant and Lee There is a photo so similar to this one in the book "Grant and Lee" by William A. Frassanito that it must have been taken about the same time. It is in the City Point chapter view 8. The tents and buildings on top of the bluff were part of the Railroad Hospital. The wharf shown is a replacement for one that was blown up by saboteurs on August 9,1864. The explosion killed 43 laborers and according to Mr. Frassanito narrowly missed General Grant who was in front of his headquarters tent at the time. His books have photos taken during the Civil War and then the same scene in modern times. IroncladIn regard to the comment by Excel08 about the ironclad. Also according to Mr. Frassanito there would be about 200 vessels anchored off of City Point on any given day by the fall of 1864 including the ironclad ram "Atlanta" with one stack. Poor LightingAmazing that all the headlights on these locomotives were a kerosene lamp in a box with a magnifying lens. Spectre-visionNifty ghost in front of main tent! Hillside erosionAttention troopers! Gen. Grant has authorized the issuing of hazard pay due to the hillside erosion and the location of the outhouse. It is further recommended that only those soldiers who know how to swim should make use of the facilitiesafter dark. Buster Isn't ThereI'll bet he is out visiting Annabelle Lee. InterestingAlmost as interesting as the locomotives are the view of the ships in the harbor. OopsHow did I not see that? Boy, is that embarrassing. Hey youget back to work. 25 years of progressIt amazes me to think that these beautifully turned out engines are only one generation away from the dawn of American railroading (think Tom Thumb and iron-plated wooden tracks). A person born in 1820 grew up with horse, foot or canal-boat travel, when 50 miles was a good day's journey. During their adult years, they saw the rise of well-established railroads that could travel fifty miles per hour. This, together with the telegraph, was the dawn of the "shrinking world." The Third LocomotiveThe locomotive moving forward between the "Lt. Genl. Grant" and the "Genl. J.C. Robinson" is the "Governor Nye." This 4-4-0 was built by the Richard Norris & Son locomotive works in Philadelphia, and was acquired new by the USMRR on February 18, 1863. Sent to North Carolina in 1865 to work on the USMRR, it was still in the USMRR inventory in April 1866. Another photo taken within minutes of this one shows it in the yard. Watch that last step...I don't think that cliff-side staircase meets any imaginable safety regulation. Bridge Of Beanpoples & Cornstalks General J.C. Robinson 4-4-0 (Construction # 124) Formerly known as the USMRR locomotive General Haupt and acquired new by USMRR on January 17, 1863. Renamed General J.C. Robinson. Sold to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1865. http://www.nvcc.edu/home/csiegel/USMRR%20Locomotives.htm "That Man Haupt has built a bridge over Potomac Creek, about 400 feet long and nearly 100 feet high, over which loaded trains are running every hour, and upon my word gentlemen, there is nothing in it but beanpoles and cornstalks." Monitor identityThe monitor noted by others is most likely a Passaic-class ship and probably the Lehigh. The primary assumption is that the ship is perpendicular to the line of sight (as are the other ships). In that case comparing the monitor's funnel (tall thin light-colored tube to the left of the turret) to the turret, they are signifiicantly closer spaced than would be the funnel-turret distance for a Canonicus-class ship, the only other type which fits what is visible. This marks it as a Passaic. To identify it as the Lehigh is the stretch. At least three Passaics were known to have been in the City Point area at this time; the Lehigh, Patapsco, and Sangamon. The Patapsco and Sangamon were both confusingly identified as having a white ring at the top of the turret/base of the rifle shield. There is no ring visible on the turret of this monitor. The Lehigh was all black. O Scale model Civil War model railroadBernie Kempenski is building a model railroad with these kinds of locomotives, etc. His is dated 1862. http://usmrr.blogspot.com (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads)
Over the River: 1902
... landscape photos. He was also one of the longest surviving Civil War veterans. High Bridge I think the photo would be a little later than ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 3:04pm -

"Chicago & North Western viaduct over Des Moines River near Boone, Iowa" ca. 1902. Photo by William Henry Jackson. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Kate Shelley High BridgeThat's the Kate Shelley High Bridge, which had just opened when this photo was taken. Since the 1880s, Iowa schoolchildren have learned how its namesake, 15-year-old Kate, went to heroic lengths to warn an approaching train that a (different) bridge had washed out. A new span is being constructed next to it, with completion due in June 2009. For the story of the bridge, Kate, and its replacement, click here. To see it today (with its replacement nearly completed) click here. 3, 2, 1, spit!That's a line they haven't ripped out, thankfully. Here's a photo of a steam loco they use on their scenic railway. I love trains......and this is an amazing picture of one. Wow. William Henry JacksonIt's terrific to see another image by William Henry Jackson, the great photographer of the American West. Jackson, who lived to 99, had an extraordinary career--he even worked on 'Gone With the Wind'!--this 70 years after he was taking his most famous landscape photos. He was also one of the longest surviving Civil War veterans. High BridgeI think the photo would be a little later than 1900 as photos of the bridge under construction, which were displayed in the old CNW headquarters at Boone, are dated 1903 by the photographer. High Bridge VideoKateFound this anonymous account of Kate on the net as well. Boone-area railroadsBoone and Scenic Valley (with their Chinese-built steam loco) operate on trackage previously owned by the one-time electric line Fort Dodge, Des Moines, and Southern. Chicago and Northwestern routes (including the Kate Shelley High Bridge) are now part of Union Pacific. Please pleaseplease please let there be a stereoview of this somewhere... (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson)
U.S.S. Onondaga: 1864
... good ship Onondaga was built in 1864, near the end of the Civil War and was sold to France after the war. She continued in service in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 5:20pm -

1864. "James River, Virginia. Monitor U.S.S. Onondaga; soldiers in rowboat. From photographs of the Federal Navy, and seaborne expeditions against the Atlantic Coast of the Confederacy." Wet plate glass negative. View full size. HangersDoes anyone know what the three objects hanging over the side of the boat are? Appropriate HeadgearFor once, someone's wearing a boater in a boat. . . . Low in the water.It would not take much to swamp this ship. Questions? Why were they built to ride so low? What is in those little bags tied next to the oars on the sides of the rowboat? I suspect the older man with the pipe at the stern using a rough stick is acting as a rudder. Interesting snapshot of life! How Low Can You Go?Not a lot of freeboard on the good ship Onondaga. [The Onondaga was, as noted in the caption, a monitor or ironclad. - Dave] historical shipI looked the Ol' Onondaga up and she had quite a history. She was built in New York and sent to Virginia where she saw several important engagements. She was decommissioned in 1865 and sold to the French navy and refitted with rifled cannons of just over 9 inch. Replacing the 8 in smooth bore guns of American vintage. She was scrapped in 1902. Pretty impressive! Buffers-low in the waterMonitors were built very low in the water in order to present as little as possible of a target to an enemy gunner. They were very useful in inland waterways, on the open seas, in any bad weather, they would be in serious danger. My guess on the three bags on the launch is they are buffers to keep the wood of the boat's side from getting banged up when it is up against a wharf or another vessel in wavy water BumpersThose, probably leather, bags over the rowboat's side are fenders/bumpers meant to protect the sides of ships when docking. Today we use plastic fenders which are plastic and much larger (shaped like a serious hot dog). Ride So LowMonitors were river craft essentially floating gun platforms. They are not ships in the normal sense. Their freeboard (distance between the main deck and water line) was very small so they would present less of a target to opposition fire. Heavily armored above the main deck, they could withstand direct hits from the guns of the day without serious injury. Boat FendersThe small round objects hanging over the side are boat fenders, used to prevent damage to the rails when the boat is moored alongside something like a dock or the Onondaga. These are probably made of leather, and if they contain anything, it's probably more leather padding or perhaps a disk of soft wood. According to Wikipedia ....The good ship Onondaga was built in 1864, near the end of the Civil War and was sold to France after the war. She continued in service in the French Navy until 1903. The delivery cruise to France must have been terrifying. Interestinghttp://americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_war/Navy_Ships/USS_onandaga.html Across the waves.The Onondaga was sold to France after the war. How did they deliver it? Surely they didn't sail her! OnandagaThe bags on the longboats are probably bumpers, designed to keep the boat from being damaged when at a dock, or tied up alongside a ship with a low freeboard. Monitors were designed by Ericsson to sit low in the water to improve stability by bringing the mass of the turret down, and to make them a far more difficult target to hit. The hull was protected by the water and it was hard to strike below the waterline. This made them maneuverable and hard to hit but could make them very unseaworthy in bad weather. Monitor - Ericsson's original "cheesebox on a raft" sank off Cape Hatteras in a 1862. Other monitors were designed to be more seaworthy. Onondaga hull was built entirely of iron rather than wood like earlier monitors. As for Onondaga, she was sold back to her builder in 1867 and then sold to the French where she served as a coastal defense ship. She was scrapped by the French in 1904, making her the longest lived of the Civil War monitors. Those hanging thingies ...look like bumpers to me. They are all at the right height. Low FreeboardThe very low freeboard on this (and every other) monitor was designed to make the ship very hard for another ship to hit with cannon fire. When the monitors were "cleared for action", everything but the turrets were stripped down and stored or thrown overboard. The rigging and life boats were eliminated, and the ship was steered from a small armored box only a few feet high. Even the funnel (chimney) was dismantled so that only a small stub protruded from the deck so as to present the smallest target possible. Monitors worked fairly well in protected estuaries, bays, and navigable rivers, but monitors were notoriously poor sea-going ships. Many foundered and were lost, often with all hands, in heavy seas. In every other nation, the monitors were regarded as a design fluke and were not widely copied. The U.S., however, continued to use monitors well into the 1880s and beyond....mostly because Congress refused to fund a modern navy. Does anyone know what the three objects hanging over the side ofThey are fenders. Why so low?Why were they built to ride so low? To make a small target. Great in battle. Not so good at sea, as the original USS Monitor proved. What is in those little bags tied next to the oars? I was curious about that, too. I couldn't Google up an answer, but my guess is simple oarlocks. Place the oar in the slot, then flop the weighted line over the shaft. The high-tech nature of the civil war continually surprises. Even though it was still a time of cavalry and slavery, there were also ironclads, telegraphy, balloons, Gatling guns and railroads. Freeboard or Lack Thereof...If you look up the U.S.S. Onondaga on Google you will find that after the war it was decommissioned and then transferred to the French navy. With so little freeboard how did they get it to France? I can understand the low freeboard patrolling the coastal rivers, but even there it probably had to enter the Atlantic to get from the northern ports to the southern ports. How dey do dat? Could the three objectsCould the three objects hanging over the side be fenders? That is: padding for when the bout bangs alongside the mother ship? Lil' bagsThose little bags are in fact bumpers to protect the side of the row boat from damage. FendersThey be fenders to protect the boat's planking when coming alongside I should think. Those wooden things on theThose wooden things on the side of the boats are most likely to prevent scuffing and other damage, when the boat is moored. Unfortunately I have no idea, what is the proper English word for those. these days they are made of plastic, and resembles big, straight sausages.... Hanging ObjectsI think they are cushions, to keep the side of the boat from banging directly against the side of another vessell when boarding, disembarking etc. FendersBoat fenders, that is, is what the little bags are. Hangers maybeI'm thinking those are clean drinking water for the rowers. I'd suspect the guy to theI'd suspect the guy to the left of the guy smoking a pipe is the one who actually has a hand on the tiller. As far as the three objects handing over the starboard gunwale, they might be fenders, although they do seem small. As far as the freeboard goes, it is very low in the water. The Monitors were susceptible to being swapped as evidenced by the original USS Monitor, which went down in a storm off the coast of North Carolina. FendersThe objects hanging over the side of the small boat(s) are probably fenders, meant to keep the painted wood from grinding against the edge of the larger boat - which would be particularly punishing given the low iron deck of the Monitors. Hangers@GeezerNYC Bumpers Nautical KnowledgeThe hanging things on the boat are fenders, aka bumpers, that prevent rubbing and damage when alongside other boats and docks. They are still required gear for boats of all sizes, though of different design. The gent with the pipe is probably putting his stick in the water. The tiller is more likely in the hands of the soldier in the aft. The boats in the background have rudders and tillers, so this should one as well. Barrier?In the background, are those sunken ships forming a barrier? I'd rudder not bump, if you don't mind.Following exhaustive research efforts, our crack Civil War historical artifacts team members have reached a somewhat tenuous conclusion. After sometimes heated discussions, it has been narrowly decided that the device held by the pipe smoking gentleman in the above photo should be rightfully placed under the "P.S." category of 19th century naval devices. In layman's terms the P.S. would simply designate this instrument as a "pushoff stick." Either that, or the man was an utterly misguided landlubber with a proclivity in providing great mirth to the more nautically savant. In regard to the mysterious pouch-like objects hanging from the sides of the launch, the less than timorous artifacts team has proffered the suggestion that these would likely be called bumpers in today's parlance. Please note that our team does take all our suggestions quite lightly. On monitors and freeboardsMonitors, throughout their history (Roughly the U.S. Civil War to WWII), were built to be coastal ships. A large freeboard (which means more ship to build, and a larger target) was not necessary because the ships were never intended to leave inland waterways or shallow coasts. This also worked well with U.S. foreign policy which was more concerned with its own waters. I'm sure many people are familiar with the story of U.S.S. Monitor (the original monitor) which was swamped and sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras. Monitor FactoidsThe "monitor" was a radical new warship design by engineer John Ericsson during the US Civll War. The standard high-sided wooden warship with its "broadside" of guns was still designed for sail power and to repel boarders. He conceived a fully mechanized ironclad "ship-killer" that presented a much smaller target and had several much larger guns housed in heavily armored rotating turrets. This proved quite deadly against wooden ships especially in breaking through blockades. Although not totally seaworthy, most waves washed harmlessly over the low deck. The concept gradually evolved to larger more seaworthy battleships with "real" armor-plated hulls, but the large, turret mounted guns became the new standard. The "canteens" alongside the rowboat are fenders to keep its hull from scraping against the sides of the ship. IDing the ObjectsThe things hanging over the side of the boat are called bumpers, buoys, or fenders. They're to stop the sides from hitting and scraping other boats and docks. Hangers...Id say these are used to draw wather from boat. Sorry for my poor enlish :/ The Objectsare bumpers. Coiled rope inside tarred leather to keep from scratching the boat or the ship. Much like the rubber ones we have today. She was a river monitorRiver monitors were not designed with high freeboard because it was needed. They were not supposed to put to sea, and the lower the freeboard the better because it made less of a target. HTH Re:HangersMy best guess is they are bumpers to protect the wooden sides of the rowboat when along side a ship or wharf. Notice the other rowboats pictured have them as well. What I see here is the bumpers were fitted for the average ship or dock and the ironclad, being so low in the water, caused the scraping and damage to side of this rowboat below the bumpers. Built low for a reasonWonderful photo! One of the ideas behind the Union's ironclads (called "Monitors" after the archetype U.S.S. Monitor) was that if little sticks above the water, there is little to effectively shoot at. Hence, the only things that are exposed are the (heavily armored) revolving gun turret(s). Note that this ship has two revolving turrets, in contrast to the U.S.S. Monitor, which just had one. Needless to say, though, these monitors were not the greatest thing to be used in rough open seas -- that's how the U.S.S. Monitor was lost. The Confederates took an entirely different approach (as with the C.S.S. Virginia, née Merrimack). Their ironclad vessels were heavily armored structures built upon traditional wooden hulls. Because most of the Confederate ship stuck out of the water, it would have to employ a lot more armor plating which added weight and made it much less manueverable and less able to be employed in shallow areas. Low FreeboardIndeed, as earlier comments note, this monitor has unusually low freeboard (not sure if they all did; certainly, all monitors had relatively low freeboard compared to "normal" ships.) The function of this feature was to reduce the target area that could be hit by shellfire, both to make hits less likely and to reduce the weight of armor required to cover the vertical side. (The deck was also lightly armored, since the technology of directing long range fire made a plunging, high angle hit very unlikely; the deck armor was enough to deflect a glancing hit whose angle of fall was only a few degrees). What was neglected in this design compromise was the fact that there was hardly any reserve buoyancy...a leak too big for the pumps to control would result in the deck edge going under and the ship sinking in a rather short time...and in fact, this happened to the Monitor herself on an open ocean passage on the last day of 1862. The objects dangling over the rail on the boats (both the manned boat in the foreground and the empty boats tied up to the ship) are probably fenders, although they look rather small for the purpose. Needless to say, protecting the side of a small, lightly built wooden boat coming alongside a vessel armored with iron was quite important. Re: Hangers (@GeezerNYC)I'd think that the objects on the boat are fenders, to keep the boat from banging into docks or the ship. MonitorThe Monitor-class ironclads like that in this photo were designed to offer as little a target to Confederate artillery as possible; most of their hull was kept below water, and practically the only structures above it were the chimney (those were steam-powered ships) and two revolving, armored turrets. The most famous of these ships, the U.S.S. Monitor (which gave its name to this class of vessels) took part in the first battle between "ironclads", or ships made or covered on metal, which took place on march 9, 1862, and is known as the Battle of Hampton Road. Quoting from an excellent article on Wikipedia: "...While the design of Monitor was well-suited for river combat, her low freeboard and heavy turret made her highly unseaworthy in rough waters. This feature probably led to the early loss of the original Monitor, which foundered during a heavy storm. Swamped by high waves while under tow by Rhode Island, she sank on December 31, 1862 in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. 16 of 62 crewmen were lost in the storm." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Monitor Rubber Baby Buggy Boat BumpersMy guess on the 3 objects hanging off the side of the rowboat (and visible on some of the other rowboats in the photo) is that they are "Boat Bumpers" a.k.a. "Dock Fenders". These prevent the side of the boat from coming in direct contact with another boat or the dock when the boat is tied up. FendersI took those things hanging from the gunwale of all the small boats in the photo to be fenders, used as a cushioning bumper when tied up against a dock or another hull. Modern versions: http://tinyurl.com/m4jgzu Somehow it crossed the Atlantic!According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Onondaga_(1864) after it was decommissioned in 1865 it was sold to the French navy and here's a photo of it in Brest http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/USS_Onondaga_60211.jpg I can't imagine it out in the Atlantic, even on a very calm day! objects on side of boatThey look like typical boat bumpers of the small variety.. Hangers Answer?Ballast, or bumpers. It's a monitorYes, it would be easy to swamp this ship- it was designed for inlets and calm waters; it is a double turreted descendent of the Monitor- the famous ironclad that did battle with the Merrimack/Virginia. It sits so low in the water so as to be an extremely difficult target. The turrets, along with relatively petite size allowed the monitor vessels to be extremely maneuverable and effective- although the crew had qualms with living below the waterline- which is why there are so many canopies on deck. Johan Eriksson, the designer of the original Monitor was one of the first developers of the propeller, and on his signature ship he patented hundreds of brilliant inventions from a then state-of-the-art ventilation system, to the rotating gun turret, and the first operable marine toilet. HangersCould be to scoop out water eh? three objects"Does anyone know what the three objects hanging over the side of the boat are?" Bumpers. Re: Hangers, et al.The 3 little bags visible near the oars are the Civil War-era version of fenders. They were generally filled with corncobs or sawdust and served as spacers to prevent the wooden boat from brushing against the ironclad and becoming damaged. Of more interest is the canvas coverings over parts of the ironclad. These signify that the monitor is in Union-held waters as they would never be used where there was a risk of battle. Ironclads were just that, iron plates laid over a wooden hull and still vulnerable to fire. The Answer: Fenders!The bag-shaped objects are fenders, or as you land-lubbers would say, bumpers. You hang them over the side to save your paint job when you're tied up to the dock or to a ship. I'm guessing they're made of leather or rubber. The Onondaga sits low in the water to decrease her vulnerability to enemy artillery fire -- by design, not by accident. Re: U.S.S. Onondagathose little thingys are bumpers for pulling next to a stell ship with a wooden boat. This was definitly a 'Lessons Learned' device From a River Far Far Away . . .The two circular towers that have awnings on them - they remind me of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge in Return of the Jedi. I'm just saying. Monitor designThe design of the USS Monitor and follow-on ships such as the Onondaga were revolutionary for the time. The idea of mounting one or two guns in a rotating turret versus rows of guns along the sides of a ship enabled monitors to bring more accurate firepower to bear more quickly, and most importantly, independently of the direction of the ship's travel. While some earlier ships had turreted weapons, I believe the USS Monitor was the first to rely on its turret as its only weapons station. Monitors were low to the water to provide a smaller silhouette for the enemy gunners. Most shipboard cannons at the time would have had rather low, flat trajectories, which would have slammed into the sides of opposing ships rather than higher trajectories which would have sent plunging fire through the decks. Obviously a ship that sat lower in the water would have presented a much more difficult target for other ships--it practically didn't have sides to hit! It also made them difficult to see--in the days before submarines, these were the original stealth ships. These ships were generally designed to work in what are now called "littoral" operations, close to shore, in bays or rivers. In those environments, heavy sea states that would cause a problem with the low freeboard design were not a major concern. Riverboat steamers had similarly low freeboards. As for the items hanging along the gunwales of the rowboat, the look like bumpers to protect the rowboat and its mothership from bouncing off one another. Today they're a rubbery plastic, but I don't know what they would have been back then, maybe cork inside a waxed canvas bag? Re: Hangers>Hangers >Submitted by GeezerNYC on Sat, 08/01/2009 - 10:29pm. >Does anyone know what the three objects hanging over the >side of the boat are? They look to be bumpers. All the boats in the background have them, or some form of them, too. Low in the waterTo answer Woodchopper's question, Monitors (originally intended for harbor defense as floating batteries) were designed to expose as little of the ship above the waterline to minimize the target available to enemy gunners. With less to see, there is less to hit. While naval architecture changed over the years, this design is coming back into vogue with naval designers in examples like the DD(X) programs. BumpersUpon reading ALL the comments and not finding a clue and after a thorough and painstaking research I have come to the conclusion that those three objects hanging over the side of the boat are bumpers! Now hold down the applause. You can thank me later. More if you haven't googled yet...http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/onondaga.htm (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War)
Streetcar to the Sky: 1913
... [and apparently young jaded women lift their shirts] Civil War aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe, who incorporated the railway and is the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 1:37pm -

Mount Lowe, California, circa 1913. "Electric car at Ye Alpine Tavern, Mount Lowe Railway." This Swiss-style chalet in the San Gabriel Mountains was the upper terminus (elev. 5,000 feet) of an 1890s scenic and incline railway that started in Altadena, with streetcar connections all the way to the main terminal at the Pacific Electric Building in Los Angeles. The railway and associated resorts, including the 70-room Echo Mountain House, were gradually obliterated by fire and flood until, by 1940, nothing was left. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Can't be all that greatThis young lady doesn't seem too thrilled by the experience. And what's the streak in the background? Gauze curtains, smoke? A ghost? [It's a flutterby. - Dave] Mount Lowe videoI first became interested in researching Mount Lowe after discovering a photo, of a lady standing near some oak trees, labeled "On Mt. Lowe" in my late Aunt Mary's album. (This is the same Aunt Mary featured in my brother tterrace's photos.) There were cousins in Los Angeles, and Aunt Mary apparently went by train to visit them often. It would have been in this era. Anyway, my searches have found many links to info about the mountain and the railway. Here is a video from an old film clip. Shows amazing history.Although obvious, it seems incredible to see the flag only having 48 stars! Very interesting. Born Too LateHardly a soul can still be alive who rode the Mount Lowe Railway, especially in its golden age. It must have been a magical trip. The links tell the main story; other sites show open cars stopping to let riders admire the fields of poppies adorning the open plains in the spring. California mountains in the summer can be somewhat parched, but still refreshing compared to the warm stagnant air of the basin. The Tavern evidently preserved as many oaks as possible, with their small crackly leaves and hard acorns. Regrettably the enterprise never really covered its costs and succumbed to a series of disasters before I was born. It was a rather long trip, taking several hours each way. I, like many, regret the passing of the trolley cars, but old timetables show that it took well over two hours even to run the 50-some miles from central LA to Huntington Beach, and the tracks could never achieve the coverage of even a mediocre bus service. My StarsIt all depends on your perspective. With my little hand over my heart, I pledged allegiance to a 48-star flag on many a morning in grade school. I'm not used to the newfangled 50-star flag yet. Stars and StripesI also remember saluting the 48 star flag. Lets not get too upset about this, had this picture been taken 2 years earlier, in 1911, we would have seen a 46 star flag and 4 years before that, in 1907, old glory showed 45. I was always a good history student but grammar and punctuation were a problem, mainly because of run-on sentences. "Sunrise"Funny this is posted today! I happened to catch part of a silent movie recently on TCM called "Sunrise" and wanted to see the rest of the film. I got it from Netflix and watched it yesterday. There is a scene where Janet Gaynor is running from George O'Brien and hops something that looks just like this going through the woods and up into the mountain. I'll bet it was this trolley line. Oh, and I would highly recommend the movie - it was great and I usually don't like silent movies. Very Peaceful.Oh, I would love to have been there. Just looking at pic relaxes me. A boring place perhapsbut I bet the ride getting there would have been a blast! I thought of "Sunrise" as wellGenerally in Silent Film circles known as one of the best silent films ever made. When I saw this picture I immediately thought of that movie. I thought at the time it was unusual to have a trolley in the woods like that. Understanding the budget of a 1927 movie, I figured they would not have built that trolley and track just for the film. Just wondering if it really was the same trolley from the movie. Does the right of way still exist?Just wondering. Sort of reminds me of the trolley to Glen Echo Park in Maryland, although more dramatic. Trolleys are making a comeback. That's nice, but they are pretty useless. Mount Lowe rail trailFor hikers: http://www.mtlowe.net/MtLoweTrail.htm I camped thereAs a Boy Scout growing up in nearby La Canada Flintridge, we used to hike to the top of Mount Lowe and camp at the ruins of the old hotel. The view of Los Angeles at night was spectacular! When a fire damaged the trail to the top, my Eagle Scout project involved rebuilding the upper portion. We lugged a wheelbarrow and all the tools up to the top to complete the job. Fond memories! Thanks. The Great Circular BridgePlease post some views from the "high" side, a favorite of the postcard makers- lots of air below the car. Another favorite was taken from the opposite side of the canyon at the bottom of the incline, plus apparently group shots were taken of each incline carload an sold s souvenirs to the passengers- I'm told this is available today at amusement parks where the water toboggan plummets near the finish and most passengers are screaming. [and apparently young jaded women lift their shirts] Civil War aeronautThaddeus Lowe, who incorporated the railway and is the mountain's namesake, had been a balloonist during the Civil War as an observer for the Union. His daughter, whose name I'd have to look up, lived into the latter part of the 20th century. She was an accomplished aviator and is recorded in recent history in "The Right Stuff" as proprietor of the Happy Bottom Riding Club, the bar that stood near the end of the original runways at Muroc/Edwards AFB. Then she was known by her married name Pancho Barnes, and it may have been one of her rental horses that broke Chuck Yeager's rib the evening before he flew the X1 to Mach 1. SunriseBrookeDisAstor mentioned the movie Sunrise. I own the DVD of Sunrise, which is a remarkable film and I remember the scene where Janet Gaynor takes the trolley running through the woods to go into the city. According to IMDB, the film was shot at three outside locations: the Columbia River in Oregon, Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, both near San Bernardino. But of those two locations, only Lake Arrowhead had a Pacific Electric line nearby. So not the Mount Lowe Line, but somewhere similar. Raise a glass to Mount LoweThere's some Mount Lowe Railway memorabilia at a little bar in Altadena called the Rancho, on Lake Avenue. Bare Naked BulbLove the light bulb in the trees, so simple yet so definitive. A campground nowDid an overnighter there with the Boy Scouts recently. The old right of way makes for an easy grade. I tried to replicate the location of the historical photo. Mine is the blue tent. Dandy http://dan-d-sparks.blogspot.com Great hikeI grew up in Sierra Madre in the 1950s early '60s. The roadbed of the railway was one of my favorite hikes, even found some spikes on occasion. The river rock foundations were still there at the hotel; a great place to camp for the night and a rad view. I still fantasize of time traveling back and taking the rail trip to Mount Lowe. Present Day FunicularsIt's a shame this streetcar line is long gone, but there are still some very spectacular funicular style rail trips available. I would be very remiss if I didn't mention the Lookout Mountain Incline in my old home town of Chattanooga. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, Streetcars)
Harpers Ferry: 1862
... the state drove by a number of bridge ruins from the Civil War. That always brought home to me the nearness and reality of the War. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 5:22pm -

"Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. View of town; confluence of Potomac and Shenandoah rivers; railroad bridge in ruins." Battle of Harpers Ferry, September 1862. Wet plate glass negative by C.O. Bostwick. View full size. Points of InterestThe long industrial buildings at right along the river are the U.S. Armory, principal objective of John Brown's raid in 1859. Just to the left of the remains of the railroad bridge on the opposite bank, you can see a building extension built out over the river. This was almost certainly a toilet facility (similar to a medieval garderobe), built out over the retaining wall to empty directly into the river below. TodayI lived in Virginia for many years and in my travels through the state drove by a number of bridge ruins from the Civil War. That always brought home to me the nearness and reality of the War. Here's the aerial view of the HF ruins...you can count the same number of pilings as in the photograph: View Larger Map Glass NegativeThe faults and scratches on the almost 150 year old negative just enhances the destruction. Great picture, we should all be grateful that these pieces of history are available. Last SalvoThe hill at the extreme left in the photo was the location of one of Stonewall Jackson's artillery batteries that shelled Harper's Ferry and forced the surrender of 12,000 Union troops garrisoned in the city. Col. Dixon Miles, commanding the Federal troops, was killed after he negotiated the surrender by a last salvo fired from Loudoun Heights. After paroling the Union prisoners of war, Jackson and A.P. Hill marched their troops to Sharpsburg, where they arrived just in time to turn the tide of that battle and save Gen. Lee from near defeat. The RR bridgeDestroyed and rebuilt something like five times during the war. Finally washed away by a flood in 1936. Where is everybodyOK, very funny, who took the bridge down? How did you know I was going?I'll be taking the family there this coming Friday for a camping trip to see Harpers Ferry and then the Antietam Battlefield. I think they destroyed and rebuilt this bridge about five or six times during the Civil War. InfradestructureIt never ceases to amaze me how much destruction there was of infrastructure during the Civil War. Cannons were somewhat primitive back then and they took considerable time to reload - (hardly WWII 88 or 105mm class), so the amount of time knocking things down or blowing them up seems somewhat inordinate. It's as if the pillagers almost enjoyed their vandalism. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War, Railroads)
The Roundhouse: 1864
... departure." Wet plate glass negative by George N. Barnard. Civil War glass negative collection, Library of Congress. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 4:07pm -

November 1864. "Railroad yards at Atlanta. The Roundhouse. Ruins of depot, blown up on Sherman's departure." Wet plate glass negative by George N. Barnard. Civil War glass negative collection, Library of Congress. View full size. Switch DesignThey had a more obvious idea of how a switch had to work. PeacefulA rather tranquil scene with the man taking his ease on the boxcar roof. The raw logs under the rails are in sharp contrast to the sleepers of today. But two years on all was to change. [This isn't "two years on" -- both photos (which show different roundhouses) were made late in 1864. - Dave] Oops!Sorry Dave - my picture source was dated wrong. My knowledge of your Civil War needs work. Guess the only thing I got right was both pictures have trains in them. [Confusion probably stems from the fact that 1866 is the year the folio of photographs including the image below was published, not when the pictures were taken. - Dave] Pre OSHA and NSFWPrior to the invention of the Westinghouse air brake in 1869 shortly after the Civil War, the brakeman's job was a miserable and dangerous one, while being constantly exposed to the elements when on duty. Notice the long metal vertical rod operated by a handlebar on the back of the third car from the left which actuated the brake mechanisms on the trucks. Each car had to have its brakes adjusted manually by the brakeman sitting on the roof. The third car clearly shows there's a footrest for the brakeman and directly to the right and slightly below is an open window where the foreman may shout orders at him. Such luxuries! Notice also the coupler system in this photo prior to the invention of the Janney spring-loaded coupler of 1874. Look at those big square holes you had to load with big iron pins to tie the cars together. Many opportunities to lose a limb or just get squished altogether, which happened often. (The Gallery, Atlanta, Civil War, Geo. Barnard, Railroads)
End of the Line: 1865
... Thin rail? Look at the light-weight rail used back in Civil War times. Antique That loco looks like a fugitive from the scrap heap ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 3:59pm -

April 1865. "Richmond, Virginia. Destroyed Richmond & Petersburg locomotive." Aftermath of the Confederate evacuation in which Richmond's business district, accidentally torched by its own citizens, burned to the ground, the flames extinguished only with the aid of the occupying Federal Army. View full size. Scrap metalLooking at this picture I have to wonder about the uses all that scrap metal was put to during reconstruction. OopsAnd just how do you mistakenly torch one of your cities and not theirs? Actually this is a great pic simply because one can clearly see the internal components of this steam locomotive. And yes, the building in the background would have had elevators-steam elevators probably. [The link in the caption explains the accidental torching.] Thanks for pointing this out. It also just occurred to me the building in the background maybe a typical three or 4 storey building and this depot may be below grade... Building on the right sideBuilding on the right side looks so modern. Windows and the flat roof. Impressing. Thin rail?Look at the light-weight rail used back in Civil War times. AntiqueThat loco looks like a fugitive from the scrap heap by Civil War times. It probably dates from the 1840's judging by that upright boiler. Not exactly a main line engine anymore. Light rail - light rolling stock. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads, Richmond)
Atlanta: 1864
... was the center of the railroad traffic, at least after the war... Atlanta Union Station According to Rail Georgia that building ... Street (next to today's Underground Atlanta). Designed by civil engineer E. A. Vincent, it was initially known as the "passenger depot" ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/14/2012 - 11:35am -

Atlanta, 1864. "Federal Army wagons at railroad depot." And maybe Scarlett O'Hara in the distance. Wet plate negative by George N. Barnard. View full size. PoleWhat's the very tall pole at the back left of the photo? Lightning rod? Flagpole? TV antenna? [My guess would be signal mast. - Dave] The Pole AgainLooks like smoke from a chimney and/or a scratch on the negative. [Nope. We are talking about the articulated mast seen below. - Dave] Where is this?I wonder where this is? I'm assuming it's close to contemporary downtown Atlanta (the Underground Atlanta houses the "zero-mile" marker) and it was the center of the railroad traffic, at least after the war... Atlanta Union StationAccording to Rail Georgia that building on the right is Atlanta's first Union Station. Atlanta's first union station, constructed in 1853, stood in the block now bounded by Central Avenue, Wall Street, Pryor Street, and Alabama Street (next to today's Underground Atlanta). Designed by civil engineer E. A. Vincent, it was initially known as the "passenger depot" but came to be better known as the "car shed." Wagon DriverThe guy on the wagon in the foreground only seems to be half there. His head is not articulated and the ground behind it is visible. Strange. [This is how people look when they move during a time exposure. - Dave] The building behind the mastThe building behind the mast is Atlanta's first Fire Station HQ, located alongside what was then called Broad Street. The lens Barnard used to photograph these scenes greatly flattened the perspective, so that some objects appear closer than they really are. AtlantaThe street that runs between the building marked as "Concert Hall" and the white stone building is Peachtree Street, so this is that part of town slightly west of what is known as Five Points. The railroad "gulch" in the picture was covered up in the 1920s by a system of viaducts. Directly across from Peachtree Street ran Whitehall Street. There is a very famous Barnard photo showing a building marked "Negro Sales" which was on Whitehall Street, directly across from the signal mast you can see over the building next to the car shed, which was the depot for one of the four rail lines that ran through Atlanta in 1864. (The Gallery, Atlanta, Civil War, Geo. Barnard, Horses, Railroads)
The Great Emancipators: 1863
... an oilcloth cover that was issued to the troops in the Civil War. Looks like ... Looks like a load of coffins to me. I saw the same ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 8:32pm -

Aquia Creek Landing, Virginia, circa 1863. "Federal Army. Clerks of the Commissary Depot by railroad car and packing cases." A somewhat unsettling scene. Wet plate glass negative by Alexander Gardner. View full size. Cup HolderApparently it's like taking a picture with your tea on a table. ::cringe:: HatsHats seem to play a subtle role in this photo. How is it that the gent on the far left has such a shiny hat? It looks like plastic. Is it oiled? [Or maybe leather. - Dave] HattageThe covering on the kepi is actually an oilcloth cover that was issued to the troops in the Civil War. Looks like ...Looks like a load of coffins to me. I saw the same stacked in Vietnam. [These are hardtack crates ("Army Bread"). As noted in the caption, this is the commissary depot. - Dave] What were they really fighting for?I'll see your cringe and raise you a wince. It should be remembered, though, that at that time the Union states' attitude toward races other than white was rather uncharitable, albeit in (sometimes) more subtle ways. It is good that we are today disturbed by such insensitivity. Thank you, Dave, for reminding us of how far we've come. They have the lookof bullies to me. Boo HooeySensitivities? Didn't Janet Napolitano just ask a military officer to refill her glass? People had servants back in the day ... nothing in this picture shocks except the foreboding bureaucracy that would taint this "nation" for generations. Sic Semper Tyrannus! [Always the cherry on the sundae when the poster's last word on the subject is amusingly misspelled. - Dave] OuchI didn't understand your comment until I scrolled down. It is a very sad picture!!! Double cringe! Unsettling indeedWhat makes it so is not servitude but servility. That HatLooks more like an early conductor's hat to me than a kepi. No badge, though -- but then, no military insignia at all. His LookI think what disturbs me more than anything is the serene look on the black gentleman's face. To me it suggests he may be conditioned to accept his lower position, or it could be that he's secretly donning a mask. Either way, cheers to those who were similarly disturbed, and congrats on all of us moving far from the days portrayed in this picture. UnfortunateI hate this picture, I really do. That man sitting on the ground had just as much potential, possibly more, than any of those men around him. Too bad he wasn't able to use any of it. So glad that it's not that way anymore!! ProjectionThere appears to be an awful lot of it going on here. And I don't mean in the picture. Looking on the bright sideWhile not happy with the way people were treated back then, I do wonder if he had a few good secrets stored away! Freeze!I hate history. Why can't everything have been just like it is now and never, ever change? Handsome People in Strange ClothesNothing about this picture offends me. It is of its time. I love the clarity - which is remarkable. ClerksIt is interesting that these men (except the man holding the cup and perhaps the one with the beard) are not wearing uniforms. The man with the cup is wearing a fatigue blouse and the army "brogans." The man with the cup is most likely a freed slave. These 'contrabands' were often hired as servants. Higher ranking officers were issued a pay allowance, extra rations and uniforms for a servant. At least this man is a paid worker - far removed from slavery. Given the choice, I think the man would keep this station in life over his former state. (The Gallery, Alexander Gardner, Civil War, Railroads)
Ghosts of Atlanta: 1864
"The War in the West." 1864 photo (half of a stereograph) by George N. Barnard. ... Here is a site with several images of Georgia during the Civil War...scroll down to 1864, and you will see the listing for this picture. ... principal hotel at the time; tracks of three of the chief railroads here crossed Whitehall Street, on which the "Intelligencer" office ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 7:20pm -

"The War in the West." 1864 photo (half of a stereograph) by George N. Barnard. Atlanta Intelligencer newspaper office by the railroad depot. Exposure times were so long that anyone walking appears only as an ectoplasmic blur. View full size. Note tents in background and troop train with soldiers atop the boxcars. where was this in Atlanta?Anyone know where this was in Atlanta? Looking for an approximate street address. Masonic lodgePerhaps the large masonic lodge in the background is still standing ... might be a clue. Try the main PeachtreeTry the main Peachtree Street / locate the address of the Atlanta terminal at the time / try Five Points area / could it be near Kennesaw? good luck--former Atlanta area resident and interested in knowing as well. Masonic Lodge (1864) in AtlantaI have been researching, and it appears that the Masonic Lodge, and another building called The Trout House were on Decatur St. in Atlanta. Click on this link http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/03300/03304v.jpg (Trout house beside Masonic lodge.) Here is a site with several images of Georgia during the Civil War...scroll down to 1864, and you will see the listing for this picture. http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/cwphotos.htm Now I am off to find out if this Masonic Lodge is still standing. Where was this in Atlanta? (answer)I have been checking around and asking around about where this area in this photo might be, and a new friend on an Atlanta school site gave me this information... Quote: "Decatur Street is one of the main 5 roads that leads to Five Points, which basically is the center of downtown Atlanta, and was the center of town at that time. I think, but not sure, based on that picture and some of the other photos of the Union troop encampments, etc, that the Masonic Hall and Trout House were pretty close to what is now 5 Points. Most of that area of Decatur Street now has been renovated over the last 25 years and is where Georgia State University is located. I am fairly certain that neither of these structures is there any longer. When I went to GSU in the 1960's, I travelled almost the length of Decatur Street to get there. I do not recall ever seeing either of them, even back then, at that time, and to date, much of that area was torn down with Urban Renewal funds from the feds. It was mainly run down buildings and older businesses. It is possible that one of those run down buildings may have been one of the structures. However, Decatur Street runs east for a few miles, and they may have been futher east than I think. During the Civil War era, though, most of that area was rural. The actual Battle of Atlanta that is depicted in the Cyclorama painting took place away from the center of town out in the rural area of Decatur St/Road & what is now Dekalb Ave.(same road). At least this clears up a little bit for us all. sherri Underground AtlantaMy guess is that this was taken near the corner of Peachtree SW (then Whitehall) and Wall St. That would put it in what is now Underground Atlanta, I think. Whitehall StreetWAR-TIME CAMP IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, IN THE OLD CITY PARK At the extreme left is the old Trout House, the principal hotel at the time; tracks of three of the chief railroads here crossed Whitehall Street, on which the "Intelligencer" office fronted. http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/gordon/ill5.html Whitehall & AlabamaMy guess is the corner of Whitehall and Alabama Streets looking northeast. Currently Peachtree Street. Back then Peachtree changed to Whitehall south of Five Point. Atlanta DepotNoticed that the same photographer walked a block or so to the right after taking this one. Does that help narrow the location down? Masonic LodgeBy the Masons' own records, the Lodge in the background stood on the corner of Lloyd (now Central Avenue) and Alabama Street, at south angle. So I would guess that if we're one block west it's on what is now Pryor Street or if two blocks Peachtree. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Alabama+Street+Atlanta&oe=&ie=UTF8&hl=en&h... Ref: http://www.ap59.org/html/atlanta_59.html HandbillIf you look on the corner of the building, you can just make out the word "frolic." Can't quite tell what comes before. [Cobblers? Gobblers? - Dave] Atlanta Intelligencer office I have mapped many of Barnard's photographs on this interactive map. This picture is marked as Pushpin 10. The playbill pasted to the building in the foreground advertises a stage show by Union troops to raise money for Mrs. Rebecca S. Welch, whose husband and son (Confederates) were both killed in Virginia. The Bottom of the Playbill Reads: Benefit Night / Maj(?) I. Smith / Leader of the Band / of the 33rd / Mass. / The Laughable Pantomime / The Cobbler’s Frolic / at the Atheneum / tonight / Saturday /Nov. 5th Location of this buildingThis building was located close to where the Peach Drop tower currently is, at Underground Atlanta. Because of the viaduct that created Underground Atlanta, it would have stood below the current street level. It was on Whitehall Street (now Peachtree). (The Gallery, Atlanta, Civil War, Geo. Barnard)
Troubled Waters: 1864
1864. "Civil War R.R. operations, bridges and equipment -- Railway Bridge across Platt Creek ... burnings (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/08/2015 - 5:04pm -

1864. "Civil War R.R. operations, bridges and equipment -- Railway Bridge across Platt Creek (vicinity of Knoxville, Tenn.)" Wet plate negative. View full size. Old School Virtual RealityHalf of a stereo pair, click for bigger, in a new tab: East Tennessee Bridge Burning Conspiracyhttp://www.historicsullivan.com/events_2012_01_09.htm Risky BusinessCheck out the temporary nature of the rail bridge. I don't think I would take a train over this at anything above a "creep". Pretty sketchy. Replacement bridgesI would assume from the contract between the substantial stone piers and the makeshift decks, that these are the replacements after the bridge burnings (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War, Railroads)
Battle of Nashville: 1864
... Tennessee Capitol in the distance. From photographs of the War in the West: Hood before Nashville. Continuing his policy of the offensive ... through his eyes. Battle of Nashville During the Civil War, an army was composed of Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 7:59pm -

1864. "Nashville. Railroad yard and depot with locomotives; Tennessee Capitol in the distance. From photographs of the War in the West: Hood before Nashville. Continuing his policy of the offensive at any cost, Gen. John B. Hood brought his reduced army before the defenses of Nashville, where it was overthrown by Gen. George H. Thomas on December 15-16, 1864, in the most complete victory of the war. If the date borne on this photograph is correct, it was taken in the course of the battle." Wet plate glass negative by George N. Barnard. View full size. War BonnetWow, nice image of the poke bonnet on the lady to the right. Elegant EnginesThose locomotives are beautiful. Looks like the one that pulled Capt. James West and Artemus Gordon in the Wild Wild West. Battle of NashvilleTo clarify, Hood was the Confederate general, attacking Nashville from the south. The Union defenders had larger numbers, and better leadership, and destroyed Hood's army. In the middle of a war zone, many of the locos are immaculately maintained, in contrast to the track and buildings. The first engine out is interesting, bigger and fancier than the others, and with unusual outside bearing lead truck. Wonder if it was getting prepped for an official's (Gen. Thomas?) inspection train? The tenders are lettered "US Military RR." Thomas CircleMajor General George H. Thomas, a native Virginian, remained true to his oath and became the most successful Union general during the war. His victory over Hood at Nashville did little to improve Grant's dislike of him. Thomas, though, was enormously popular with his soldiers in the Army of the Cumberland who called him "Old Pap". He is commemorated at Thomas Circle in Washington, D.C. (Connecting the Shorpy dots) Holy Mogul!Those shiny American 4-4-0's are really beautiful, but the most interesting locomotive in the picture has to be the burned-out hulk right in the middle. It appears to be a 2-6-0 Mogul with a swiveling front "bogie" truck. Considering that the first recorded locomotive of this type was built for the Louisville & Nashville in 1860, this could the remains of that historic engine, the first of thousands of a very successful locomotive type. Sure would like to know how she ended up in such terrible shape. Fortunes of war? Beat me to it, Code BasherAs many times as I've seen this image and focused on the brass and woodwork of the 4-4-0s by the engine house, this time the 2-6-0 jumped out at me like something from the future (how did that get there?!); the first comment in the column addressed my surprise perfectly. Indexing filesIs there any that the pictures can be indexed? When perusing your files for long periods of time, as I do, I would like to be able to quit the site and return at some time and be able to locate the place where I was previously. However I find no way to accomplish this. Can you help? [Bookmark the page. - Dave] A part of my history was hereWhile recently tracing my ancestry, I found one of my great-great-great-great-grandfathers. Thanks to some wonderful 19th century person/group who understood the value in such things, I found a mini biography of him that says he served under General Thomas; enlisted in Company F, 64th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf. in September of 1864. 145 years ago. I can't wait to further comb through pictures like these. I figure it's the closest I'll ever get to seeing through his eyes. Battle of NashvilleDuring the Civil War, an army was composed of Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry. The Cavalry were the eyes and ears of the army. Without a Calvary component, an army was simply not an effective fighting force. Gen Hood commanded the Cavalry component of General Johnston's Confederate Army. Once Atlanta fell, in desperation, the Confederacy split up Johnston's Army and sent Hood to Tennessee to try to disrupt the supply lines to Sherman and to engage the Union forces occupying Tennessee and Kentucky. For both Johnston and Hood, their mission objectives were simply impossible. Johnston stood no chance of stopping Sherman without a viable army. And Hood stood even less of a chance against a well fortified city. Hood's army were so starved that they actually ate pumpkins and walnuts on the march back to Tennessee. For an excellent read on the civil war in the western front from a southern private's perspective I urge you to pick up "Company Aytch" by Samuel Watkins - 1882. Of 3200 men who made up his regiment, 65 returned home - 4 days shy of 4 years from the day they marched off. General Hood sacrificed both legs and an arm in the war. The story is not one of tactics and strategies, but of the daily life and struggles of the southern soldier. Watkins tale is humorous and uplifting. I simply do not know how he found it within himself to keep such a positive spirit against such adversity & desperate circumstances. All of Tennessee should be proud of their native sons... It is a great book! Shelby Foote's favorite on the topic. Beautiful BuildingThe big building on the hill in the upper right corner is very beautiful. Does anyone know if that building still stands? Regardless of that what is the name of the building so I can search for more pictures. Tennessee State CapitolAs noted in the caption, the building is the State Capitol. The street view, though an ugly parking lot now, seems an improvement to me over war nonetheless. View Larger Map View of the capital of Nashville I have lived in Nashville and scoured this area in modern times. The Capital building still stands today without much change! The rail yards shown here in the foreground are long gone but this is the present area of Union street and 10th avenue. Nearby Church street passes under a RR grade. This view looks to the North East and the camera focal length must shorten the distance. (The Gallery, Civil War, Geo. Barnard, Nashville, Railroads)
Prisoners of War: 1864
... poor rations most Confederates had in the last year of the war, so the Union rations must have been a relief. OTOH, they are may be en ... least you weren't getting shot at," may want to read up on Civil War prison camps. They were pretty horrific on both sides, and at Rock ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/05/2008 - 10:08pm -

1864. "Chattanooga, Tenn. Confederate prisoners at railroad depot waiting to be sent north." Wet plate glass negative, photographer unknown. View full size. Slim soldiersI noticed how thin all the soldiers are and also the woman and two children by the group of men on the tracks. I really enjoyed browsing over this picture since it showed so much detail. Train CarCheck out the train car that is labeled "Hospital Car." I wonder what the interior looked like. Officers and RationsBy their uniforms a number of these are officers. Their slimness derives from the poor rations most Confederates had in the last year of the war, so the Union rations must have been a relief. OTOH, they are may be en route to Block Island prison on the Great Lakes, which got miserably cold and dank in the winters. RationsYes, the rations were lacking (I use that loosely) at that time of the War. I seem to recall a Confederate memoir by Sam Watkins recalling that the cavalry was eating the corn out of the feed that they were giving their horses. Nice shot of Lookout Mountain in the background. PrisonersSure they're skinny, so are their guards. But what surprised me is that most of them looked relaxed and kind of happy! And that guy on the right, is he talking on his cellphone (above the tophat guy) (only kidding!) Hospital TrainGiven the large opening in the center and lack of windows, this is a converted boxcar. There were also purpose-built Hospital Cars that more closely resembled passenger coaches. In both cases, they were specially equipped for stretcher cases, however the boxcar's large center door opening would facilitate moving wounded in and out of the car. Period illustrations show a stove for heating, and what appears to be a double boiler for heating water or perhaps cooking at the opposite end of the coaches. As the boxcar shown here has two smokejacks on the roof, it appears it was similarly equipped. For some period artist's sketches and information on the cars, including an interior sketch circa 1864, click here. RelaxedYeah, I'll bet they are relaxed!! After being in battle off and on for a couple of years, they know they will have it better in a Union prison camp than in the Confederate Army. Sure, the prison camps weren't a Hilton Hotel but at least you weren't getting shot at and shelled all the time. Family HistoryOne of my relatives was captured in the fighting around Chattanooga near the end of 1863, probably several weeks before this picture was taken. He ended up at Rock Island, Illinois, from December 1863 to June 1865. The commenter who wrote, "the prison camps weren't a Hilton Hotel but at least you weren't getting shot at," may want to read up on Civil War prison camps. They were pretty horrific on both sides, and at Rock Island specifically, the prisoners had several months during which the guards on the wall made a habit of shooting prisoners at the smallest pretense or, whenever bored, firing off a random shot into the compound. I certainly don't want to get into a discussion of which side's prison camps were "worse," because they were all pretty damn awful. It was bad, bad stuff, and don't think there were many prisoners on either side who would not gladly return to their regiments if they could. All Union soldiersAll these men are Union troops. The overcoats that look gray are light blue. The photo is very remarkable in that it shows many different uniform styles and headgear. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads)
Confederate Park: 1910
... photograph, unless they meant that bust), along with the war cannons, were removed. Here is Memphis Park today. Front Street is the ... Oil Co. must be using old rubber boots. (The Gallery, Civil War, DPC, Factories, Memphis, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/11/2022 - 11:13am -

Memphis, Tennessee, circa 1910. "Confederate Park and Front Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. I spy with my eyeBy my count there’s at least 70 people in that picture. I probably missed some too. Amazing! Jefferson Davis, 1964-2017Of course, those dates mark not the birth and death of the President of the Confederacy, but the arrival and removal of his statue in Confederate Park. Ironically, the statue had a much shorter life than the man himself. By the way, Confederate Park is now called Memphis Park. Cow costumes"Dressed Beef" had me seeing sartorially significant bovine units à la Amelia Bedelia, the housekeeper of literature who took her instructions literally. Cough, cough ... It's lovelyOn this Veterans Day today, I appreciate this 1910 Confederate Park had a United States flag flying overhead. In February 2013 the Memphis city council hurriedly renamed three Confederate-themed parks, including this one and one named after the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, to head off an effort by some state legislators to block such name changes. In 2017 a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which I don't see in the 1910 photograph, unless they meant that bust), along with the war cannons, were removed. Here is Memphis Park today. Front Street is the street on the right. The concrete walks are laid out in the same pattern. The air looks much fresher. Smokin'Doesn't look like much of a view from those park benches but then again, they are upstream of the smoke. Missing the PointFor the curious: No, that isn't Union Station in the background -- one vulgar name is enough ... suh!! -- but rather Poplar Avenue station. Like many of us, it lost a little off the top, and more generally its good looks, as it slid into decrepitude. Smoke show! Whoever is firing the boiler for the Tennessee Cotton Oil Co. must be using old rubber boots. (The Gallery, Civil War, DPC, Factories, Memphis, Railroads)
Atlanta Depot: 1864
... are called stub switches. (The Gallery, Atlanta, Civil War, Geo. Barnard, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 2:44pm -

1864. "Atlanta, Georgia, railroad yards." Wet plate collodion glass negative, left half of stereograph pair, by George N. Barnard. View full size. BurnedAnd on September 2nd 1864, the departing Union troops set fire to this railroad terminal and all its standing Confederate railroad rolling stock to ensure the enemy would not be able to readily reclaim the area. Next day, the mayor of Atlanta and aldermen surrendered the city to the Union, asking for further protections and no additional private property destruction. That scenario was famously dramatized in Gone With the Wind, both book and film. Point (Switch) BladesNotice how there are no blades as such. Sections of rail move across when the lever is pushed/pulled rather than the traditional machined tapered blade. BusterThis photo brightens the day by bringing Buster Keaton's "The General" to mind -- especially the scene involving the famous Keaton curve. Lil SwitcherCheck out the cute little switch engine steaming away over by the cut of cars on the right. Those stub switch stands are the precursors to the harp switch stands, seen here. StacksDoes anyone know why the engine stacks are so big, especially compared to the size of the shunters. Creosote traps? Flash and ember traps? Locomotive SmokestacksThe large stacks were indeed intended to help keep embers from falling on the grass along the tracks. They are much more complicated than they appear since they had cast iron deflectors and screens inside the stacks. Hangin' OutThat's a lot of guys just hangin' out in the switchyard... Link-and-pin couplersBefore the day of the automatic coupler, many a railroad worker lost limb or life to the dangers involved with building a train. Blades, points, switchesThe "blades" you refer to are properly called "points." Points move back and forth to be pushed close to the main running rails to make the locomotives go to the appropriate track. The switches are called stub switches. (The Gallery, Atlanta, Civil War, Geo. Barnard, Railroads)
High Bridge: 1865
... From photographs of the main Eastern theater of war, the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865. Wet collodion glass plate ... half of stereograph pair, by Timothy H. O'Sullivan; from Civil War photographs compiled by Hirst Milhollen and Donald Mugridge. View ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 4:38pm -

April 1865. "Farmville, Virginia, vicinity. High bridge of the South Side Railroad across the Appomattox." From photographs of the main Eastern theater of war, the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865. Wet collodion glass plate negative, left half of stereograph pair, by Timothy H. O'Sullivan; from Civil War photographs compiled by Hirst Milhollen and Donald Mugridge. View full size. Farmville High BridgeI went to Longwood College in Farmvillle and I am very familiar with this bridge. It is still in use by the railway companies. Over the years, many people have lost their lives from being on the bridge when the trains come through.....so...some people suggest it is haunted! Battle of High BridgeAlso the site of a furious two-day endgame pitched battle (April 6 & 7, 1865) for control of this bridge in which it was significantly damaged by fire. This engagement occurred during Lee's retreat to Appomattox Station. Considered a tactical draw the Confederate Army nonetheless captured 800 Union troops. By April 9 the formal surrender had been signed at Appomattox Court House. Iris EffectThe iris effect makes it resemble a silent film scene, maybe a silent film about the Civil War. High BridgeI was curious as to how high this bridge is (answer: 160 feet) so did a little searching and found a Wikipedia article on this bridge. Thought I'd post that link here in case anyone's interested. Interesting to me about this photo: further out on the bridge, there appears to be a work crew, perhaps. Looks like they have a handcar and possibly tools of some sort alongside the tracks. I wonder if the gentleman in the foreground, who is quite nicely dressed, is their boss? Or if he just happened to be standing there? He looks a little out of place to me. High Bridge - 1865I am a Farmville native, born & raised there, and now living in Pennsylvania. I did a high school paper on the very location in the photograph, and took some photos (sadly which were lost over the course of time, and because of moving several times since then). I added the Shorpy Historical Photos blog to my Google reader awhile back because I am a history buff, and I love photos of the past so much...NEVER thought I would see a photo of a location from my old hometown show up here...glad to see people recognizing the historical importance of rural Virginia, as it was a major staging ground for many of the battles and events that ultimately shaped the early foundations of the United States. Thanks for sharing this picture with us, and I look forward to every new post here (specifically been digging on the Krazy Kat Club series...sad to see you've reached the bottom of the barrel on that)....as well as generally ALL the content here. Kudos for a great site that presents the Art which accompanies the historical events we read about, but feel somehow disconnected from...the photos make the stories more real and accessible. After all, a picture INDEED is worth a thousand words! Many thanks, Heather High Bridge.This is one of those pictures that remind me of home and all the great people in what used to be a small town. God bless us each and every one. High Bridge nowThe Norfolk Southern bean-counters pulled the rails out of Farmville and off High Bridge in 2004, on the 150th anniversary of its construction. The roadbed is being made into a Rails-to-Trails route, going across the steel bridge of 1914, which succeeded this one. Notice the dip in the track where the track leaves the abutment. O'Sullivan also took a side view in which you can see the sag in the first span. Battle of High Bridge VeteranIt was great seeing this beautiful shot of High Bridge and the surrounding countryside. I am posting a related tintype along with this comment. It is a photograph of my great-great-grandfather Private Richard Cunningham, a member of Company "I", 1st Battalion, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry. He took part in the Cavalry Battle of High Bridge, 6 April 1865, in an effort to cut off Lee's retreat. His regiment took part in the savage, hand-to-hand combat that ensued. According to his own account, he was "the only one (of his regiment) to have escaped capture on the occasion of the High Bridge affair." An Occurrence at Owl Creek BridgeThat was what first came to my mind when I saw this photo. I saw the story first on the original (and still the best IMO) Twilight Zone. I was so impressed by it that I searched until I found the story in a book. Now I have it as an audio book also. Thanks for your wonderful site. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads, Timothy O'Sullivan)
Nashville: 1864
... was completed only a few years before the beginning of the war in 1861. It still stands today. Nashville fell to Union forces ... and engines were valuable for transportation during the Civil War. Far faster than horses capable of 40 to 50 MPH for long periods, the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:26pm -

1864. "Nashville, Tennessee. Rail yard and depot with locomotives." Wet-plate glass negative by George N. Barnard. View full size. Another view here. This Railroad Terminalis not eligible for the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Less is MoorishWhat bizarre architecture! That sagging entry portal is being held up with that one flimsy pole? And the archways look Persian or Turkish or "Arabian" while the turrets look like an English castle. The whole thing looks like it's going to fall apart any minute. I'm afraid Nashville here looks like Atlanta post Sherman! Where's Buster?Great RR view...but I kept looking for Buster Keaton peeking out of one of the locomotive cabs, or sitting on a connecting rod kissing his girlfriend! Perspective is an odd thingThose huge chunks of wood make the engines look tiny, even though I know they aren't. I also like the ghostly image of the now long-dead man in the shack. It's a rare treat to look back 100+ years into the past and I'm still amazed at the clarity of these old photographs. Music CityThis shot was taken where the bulk of downtown Nashville now resides. You can see the state capital off to the right. Even today Nashville is a pretty small city. Growing up not far from there, it always amazed me that such a smallish city could have such clout in the world of country music. NashvilleThe building that you see in the upper right hand corner of the photo is the state capital. It was completed only a few years before the beginning of the war in 1861. It still stands today. Nashville fell to Union forces without a fight in February of 1862. However, in the fall of 1864, in a last ditch effort to relieve the pressure on General Lee's forces in Virginia, confederate president Jefferson Davis ordered confederate General Hood to disengage from following Sherman to the sea and attack Nashville and after its capture move into Kentucky and then Ohio in hopes of the Union suing for peace. So, on December 15th and 16th of 1864 Union forces came out of their dug in positions and attacked Hood who had over the two proceeding weeks dug in and waited for the Union forces of General Thomas. Then over those two days Union forces soundly defeated the confederate forces. WOW....What an incredible photo, and could be of great use to model railroaders doing that era. The wood clutter would be almost impossible to manage due to the amount of engines and all burning wood....I guess there was no forest management in those days either. As a Canadian I must ask what USMRR stands for. CrenelatedThe "crenelated" appearance could easily be a Moorish or Spanish-Moorish influence. They weren't just "English castle" style but really pretty universal. Telegraph linesThe timbers on the the crenelated corner towers (chimneys?) do look like rail ties, but they have been fitted with prong-like pieces of wood and ceramic insulators for telegraph lines. Some of the lines themselves can be seen running from the insulators on the front corner tower to the insulators on the scaffolding at the center back roof parapet, and to another timber with three insulators on the tower at the far back corner of the building. All of this looks like an ad hoc arrangement, perhaps the result of a wartime need for more telegraph lines than were needed for a peacetime rail depot, or to quickly replace lines that were downed when the brickwork was damaged. Up thereOkay, I've got to ask. What are those things sticking out of the "turrets"? [They look like sections of track, complete with ties. - Dave] Nashville DepotThis depot was on McLemore Street. This Google view is pretty close. Those might be the same bricks in the 1864 photo. View Larger Map USMRR>> As a Canadian I must ask what USMRR stands for. The answer can be found here. CamouflageI looked at the full-size picture for quite a while before I realized that there are two workers sitting in front of the woodpile. Pony truck journalsPlease note the external journals on the pony truck of the lead engine nearest the camera. That's something you did not normally see on steam engines until the the twentieth century and then not until the "twenties" and then it was unusual. C&NW 4-8-4s had 'em. A few others too. Interesting! In 1864. USMRR I am sure the meaning of USMRR means United States Military Rail Road. Rolling stock and engines were valuable for transportation during the Civil War. Far faster than horses capable of 40 to 50 MPH for long periods, the US government during this time depended on rail transportation. Nashville was a hub for the South plus it's Cumberland River traffic, hence the gathering of so much here. Nashville Railroad Yard in 1864 by BernardThe State capitol building in the upper right orients you pretty well as to where Bernard took the Photo. Although the depot buildings are long gone, the RR yard is still there, although probably not for very long--the neighborhood is getting very posh now and CSX Railroad is sitting on valuable real estate. It is called the Kaine Avenue Yard and the rsilroad still uses it, mainly for trains passing through the city (the ones staying go on to the huge Radnor yards). In the 1890's they built Union Station adjacent to the tracks--approximately where the lower right of the photo would be. The center of the Yard lies just below the Demumbreun Street Bridge on Eleventh Avenue; Bernard probably took the photo a little ways up the hill, around Twelfth, likely across the street from where a strip club now exists. The photo was probably taken sometime around the battle of Nashville, but there are only a couple of shots of the Union battle lines and none of any action. Bernard preferred buildings to people. FYI (The Gallery, Civil War, Geo. Barnard, Nashville, Railroads)
None Shall Pass: 1864
... some 23 photographers in his project to photograph the Civil War. He did some photography himself (1st Bull Run, Fredericksburg ... ), but a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/13/2020 - 4:43pm -

1864. "Federal cavalry guarding the Orange & Alexandria R.R. near Union Mills, Virginia." Wet plate glass negative by Mathew Brady -- National Archives. View full size. Steeled for battleLooks like they're ready for a swordfight and hand-to-hand combat since there's nary a gun in sight! SidearmedThere is one firearm, the pistol carried by the officer (who looks like a young Dustin Hoffman). Napoleon complexThe officer holding the saber seems to have a mild case of the Bonaparte hand-in-jacket affectation. All that's missing is a banjo and fiddleThis would make a great album cover for a bluegrass group. ObscurityThe poor fellows in back didn't get much exposure. Thanks GodFor the backup on the bridge behind. I almost missed it. Roughing ItThis looks like the epitome of misery. Where are we?Is there any way to pinpoint this location?? Entering "Union Mills, Virginia" into Google Maps brings you to a very, very rural area near Lake Monticello, and Charlottesville is more than just a few miles away. I guess nothing, not even a single piece, remains of these structures in the background??? Twilight Zone?This immediately brought to mind Robert Enrico's film of Bierce's "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" that was broadcast on the original Twilight Zone. HelloAt first I did not think that this photo was that old since the guy in the middle was giving us a thumbs up. I didn't realized he was hiding this fingers. Maybe the first thumbs up ever. Different Union MillsThe Orange & Alexandria RR never got anywhere near the Union Mills that Google shows us now. This Union Mills was on Bull Run, close to Manassas Junction, which makes more sense given the apparent strategic importance evidenced by all the guards. It does show up on some old railroad maps, such as this one from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/item/91686259/ Still no joy in terms of any surviving remnants however. When Union Mills stood prominenthttp://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2003/jan/29/when-union-mills-st... Mathew Brady and "company"Mathew Brady employed some 23 photographers in his project to photograph the Civil War. He did some photography himself (1st Bull Run, Fredericksburg ... ), but a large portion of the project was shot by others. The images were released by Brady's studio and as a result were very frequently credited to Brady himself rather than the photographer who actually shot the images. In recent years, many of the images that were originally credited to Brady have been re-attributed to the actual photographer. That you A.J.?While trying to google the current location, I came across a couple of sites that attribute the photo to A. J. Russell (formerly to Matthew Brady.) For example: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/268069 [Mathew. Not "Matthew." - Dave] StockadeThe roofless building rear left looks like a classic “army fort” building -- log construction and second story overhang. (The Gallery, Civil War, Mathew Brady, Railroads)
Chattanooga Depot: 1864
... with Federal cavalry guard beyond. From photographs of the War in the West. Battle of Chattanooga, September-November 1863. Photograph ... Miller big band fame, that's for sure. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/16/2008 - 8:04am -

1864. Chattanooga, Tennessee. "Boxcars and depot with Federal cavalry guard beyond. From photographs of the War in the West. Battle of Chattanooga, September-November 1863. Photograph probably taken the following year, when Chattanooga was the base for Sherman's Atlanta campaign." Wet plate glass negative, half of stereo pair, photographer unknown. View full size. Pardon me boys...Who knew the Chattanooga Choo Choo was a United States Military Railroad? Won't you choo-choo me home?It's the Chattanooga Choo Choo! Sacks in the boxcarWonder if it's grain for the cavalry horses... Chattanooga DepotDuring Sept-Nov 1863 the Federal forces were besieged at Chattanooga and no rail traffic entered the city. What supplies did manage to get through came from the north side of the Tennessee River on what is known as the "Cracker Line." Once the rebels were forced from the heights of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge and put into full retreat, the city became a depot for Sherman's offense in Georgia. We used to own a house on Missionary Ridge and I have walked all over the battle area. Many Union veterans settled in Chattanooga after the war and Chickamauga battlefield (and parts of Chattanooga) became the first National Military Park. The rail depot was in the part of town where one can today find the Chattanooga ChooChoo, a hotel. Not what Glenn Miller had in mindNot the luxurious Chattanooga Choo Choo of Glenn Miller big band fame, that's for sure. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads)
Loco: 1890
... because they show snapshots of life in Mexico before the civil war (or Revolution, as they like to call it here). Undeniable the influence of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:26pm -

Circa 1890. "Mexican Central Railway train at station." Dry plate glass negative by William Henry Jackson. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Where's the rest of the train?That is an astonishingly short train: A locomotive, a tender, a baggage car, and then either a caboose or a small passenger car. How did they make this trip pay, unless there is something very special being carried as freight? Short TrainWe tend to expect long multi-car passenger trains but in many cases the real work was done on branch lines with a set-up that looked pretty much like this in the days before cars and buses became the standard. You really had two ways of getting to your destination if it was greater than walking distance; a local (unnamed) passenger train or a horse/horse and wagon, and after a certain distance the horse and wagon stopped making sense. This kind of train was the intercity bus of its day. Warm waterThe two ladies are collecting water overflow from the steam injector. That is the steam appliance they are standing next to. Overflow water, which is warmed by this process is not as hot as water straight from the boiler. Dave J. Hot waterUnless the boiler pressure is very low, drawing off hot water this way would result in instant steam. The water in a locomotive boiler is usually over 270 degrees so it will instantly turn to steam if released to atmospheric pressure. Possibly the locomotive had been standing and pressure dropped or else they were just getting it fired up when the photo was made. I do see that the Senora with the olla on her shoulders seems to have a bit of insulation in the form of a serape under the jar and against her head. The most likely manufacturerThe most likely manufacturer of the locomotive is the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Penn. The circular builder's plate on the side of the smokebox was a trademark of theirs. Also, they often cast "The Baldwin Locomotive Works Philadelphia, U.S.A." into the margin around the edge of the locomotive number plate during this time period. An example is here: http://www.railroadiana.org/hw/hw_bp/bp_BLW32_EBT_b.jpg This short train, with the small coach and large express car was probably the daily "milk and mail" or whatever the Mexican equivalent was. These short trains made every stop on nearly every mile of railway line in North America, carrying merchandise packages, mail, and a few passengers to all the small towns. Chances are, the contents of the express car are more valuable than the tickets for the coach. Free Hot WaterIt looks like the women are tapping off some hot water from the boiler. I've seen this done in India. I'd leave it to cool down a bit before heaving it onto my shoulder. Who made this baby?Can anyone enlarge this picture to reveal the wording on that plate on the locomotive? And what on earth are those two ladies doing next to that driver wheel? I wonder if they are looking for something. Pre-revolutionary transportationThese photos are very interesting to me because they show snapshots of life in Mexico before the civil war (or Revolution, as they like to call it here). Undeniable the influence of American railroads in the design of that loco. Do we know where this was taken? Is it a Cooke?This loco looks rather similar to this Cooke: This one is described as being owned by Compania Muebles y Mudazas. 2249 was built by Cooke in February 1893, #2249, as Lehigh & Hudson River 19. It was sold as MyM 2249 and resold as Nacional de Mexico 2249, Class F-23a. In 1931 it was renumbered 807, Class F-27, and retired in July 1934. Cooke was based in Paterson, New Jersey. Re Who Made I can't read them, but the circular builder's plate on the side of the smokebox and the circular number plate look very Baldwin. Also note the white flags on the pilot beam, signifying that this train is "running extra" -- not in the schedule. Re: Free Hot WaterI thought they were taking off steam products, which would be distilled, rather than boiler water. Photo TrainThe white flags denote a special train and I would think this train was assigned to carry Mr. Jackson and his gear and stop where he saw fit to photograph. Other railroads accommodated Jackson in this way. Probably a BaldwinI'm not 100% sure but looking at the round builder's plate, and trying to decipher the lettering around the edge of the numberplate on the front, I think this was built by Baldwin. A ten-wheeler would generally be considered a huge engine for such a tiny train, but Mexico is in general pretty mountainous. Also, sometimes an outsized engine would be assigned to a train in order to avoid dispatching it as a light engine to a new location. I seem to recall seeing an example in one of by books, and back when I worked by the tracks in Silver Spring I saw a freight with eight diesels pushing at the back-- definite overkill considering that the run from Brunswick is pretty much downhill all the way. It's not a Cooke engineI think it's a Mason. It is a dead ringer with identical cab, smoke box, steam and sand domes. and everything matches except for the pilot and location of the bell Might Be a BaldwinAlthough not 100%, the amount of wording on both the builder's plate (the raised round item on the smokebox, just above the white flag and cylinder on our left), and the front number plate, lead me to believe this was a Baldwin. Cooke also used round plates, but with much simpler lettering, and in various sizes, Darkoom SpecialVery likely this is a photographer's special, with the second coach fitted up to act as a rolling darkroom. WH Jackson worked on a contract basis for a lot of western railroads - the Denver Public Library has a huge collection of the pictures he took for the D&RG, DSP&P and Colorado Midland Railroads, among others - and quite a few of them include a two car (in some cases, a two caboose) train fitted up for his use, and posed among various scenic landmarks. It's not Alec or Billy or Stephen, but...Careful squinting at the numberplate on the smokebox door reveals it's a Baldwin. How did they make this trip pay?One could ask the same thing about a private 747. Short trains, well-known from moviesA lot of cheap western movies show very short trains, probably because they couldn't afford to restore a lot of rolling stock ..... This reminds of such movies. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson)
Culpeper: 1862
... depot." Photographs from the main Eastern theater of war, Bull Run, second Battle of Bull Run. Wet plate negative, half of stereo ... with modern workmanship. No wonder when reading of railroads during the War Between the States, the schedules were very slow and ... missing a board on the right. - Dave] (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads, Timothy O'Sullivan) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/25/2008 - 8:58pm -

August 1862. "Culpeper Court House, Virginia. Railroad depot." Photographs from the main Eastern theater of war, Bull Run, second Battle of Bull Run. Wet plate negative, half of stereo pair, by Timothy O'Sullivan. View full size. Quality, Film Plane, Age.You can tell the film wasn't completely on-plane if you look at the out of focus steeple next to the in-focus steeple. That is a fantastically high-quality photograph for 1862. I'd almost question this photograph was from 1862 if it weren't for the telegraph pole and accompanying insulators that match for that period. ["Film" did not exist in 1862. - Dave] TrackworkI find the track work in this photo very interesting. Seems to be very rough in comparison with modern workmanship. No wonder when reading of railroads during the War Between the States, the schedules were very slow and iffy. The switches are interesting too. Stub type with a rather novel switch stand. Three-Way Stub SwitchPhillip is correct about that stub switch. Rail fans go crazy over these. This one is even rarer, as it is a three-way stub switch. (Drool, drool.) Image QualityWet-plate collodion photography, especially glass plate negatives, are considered to provide the clearest images providing in some cases far more detail than digital. The out of focus effect is you observe at the edge of the image is called "bokeh" and caused by the fall off of the petzval-type lens. A wet-plate artist would have to make his own "film" for each image. Pouring collodion on a glass plate and sensitizing it in a sliver nitrate bath before exposing in in the camera. Then he would bring it back to his dark tent and develop and fix it. All of this had to be done within 10 to 30 minutes before the plate dried. U RailNote the ends of hollow "U Rail" showing. One of the predecessors of the modern "T Rail," and a big improvement over strap rail-- strips of iron nailed to wood rails that frequently tore loose and came up through the wooden car floors ("a snakehead"). Brickwork patternI can think of no explanation for the light-dark pattern on the brickwork facing us in the center. The lower inverted V suggests an older structure since removed. But that theory is nixed by the identical coloration in the isolated band above. I'm stumped. [It's a shadow cast by the eave. Which is missing a board on the right. - Dave] (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads, Timothy O'Sullivan)
Ways of Going: 1865
... View full size. Last Push You can really feel the war coming to an end in this picture. All the stops were pulled out with this ... laid around that bluff next to the river as seen in one civil war photograph. This was an important Union military center with trains ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 5:34pm -

Circa 1865. "City Point, Virginia. Railroad yard and transports." Wet plate glass negative, half of stereograph pair. Studio of Mathew Brady. View full size. Last PushYou can really feel the war coming to an end in this picture. All the stops were pulled out with this drive. Great picture. Is now my desktop background. Balloon StacksThose funnel-shaped smokestacks (aka "balloon stacks") were designed to keep sparks from escaping, esp. from wood-fired locomotives of that era. Great photo! Mystery ObjectI wondered if anyone might know what this is? It somewhat resembles a lathe. Possibly some kind of woodworking equipment, as there seems to be a large saw blade next to one of the buildings and perhaps a pile of unfinished railroad ties near there as well. BrokenAt first I thought there was graffiti on the boxcar in the foreground, but on close-up it reads "Broken." A lot to seeI'm always amazed at the detail in these photos you post. From the word "Broken" chalked on the rail car to the piles of wheels on the dock. And with a bit of exposure time, we can see the moving masts of a ship at dock. Locomotive smokestacks Once again, I'm sent to wondering why the locomotives of that era had those huge, funnel shaped smokestacks. Seems like a stovepipe type would eject smoke just as well, or am I missing something by way of aerodynamics? That said, another magnificent moment frozen in time. ShipsGreat depth of focus (if that's the correct term -- I mean you can clearly see details in the far distance). I'm fascinated by the ships. Looks like your standard schooner docked at the right. The inboard ship on the left appears to be a three-masted schooner. The outboard one looks like a brigantine -- could it be a type of Baltimore Clipper? It looks like it has steam power too. Great photographTechnically this is a great photograph; historically it is magnificent. You can just feel the moment and can also appreciate the sheer strength and efficiency of the (relatively) young United States. Hurry Up and WaitThere is a lot of activity in this photo. Whether it is efficient activity or not is impossible to judge. Second Look at ShipsEast Coast three masted schooners were called "tern schooners." The vessel moored outboard of "our" tern schooner is technically a half brig or hermaphrodite brig, although today it could be called a brigantine. In the 19th C, brigantines had upper, square sails on their mainmasts in addition to their gaff mainsail. (That rig is no longer seen today even for yachts or training ships.) The smokestack immediately aft of its mainmast can't possibly belong to this ship, because it would obstruct the swing of the main boom, as well as presenting a fire hazard to the mainsail. It's about the right size to belong to a steam tug moored on the outboard side of the half brig. Transition of technologiesRemarkable scene of a busy waterfront showing the transition of wind-powered clippers to steam-powered ships, of mule trains to locomotion. i love the stack of wagon wheels on the dock. Another great Shorpy photo. Interesting place to visitYou can still walk along one area where the original track was laid around that bluff next to the river as seen in one civil war photograph. This was an important Union military center with trains departing this location for the front on a daily basis. The rail transportation system was so efficient at this location that fresh baked bread was still hot when it arrived for the soldiers at the front. General Grant had his command post not very far from here on top of the bluff. Mopping UpOn the side of the boxcar in the foreground, next to its door on which "BROKEN" is scrawled, hangs a mop! Anyone have an idea of the mop's purpose? Locomotive SmokestacksThere is a lot about those smokestacks that a photograph will not show. Inside there is a cast iron deflector that diverts the exhaust blast downwards and at the top is a heavy wire mesh screen. Coal burning locos used a straight stack as they did not create sparks to amount to anything, but the wood burners needed something to keep them from setting the scenery on fire. There were one or two cleanout doors near the bottom of the stack to allow for removal of the settled cinders. The locomotives in the photo are all of "American Standard" design and had four-wheel trucks up front to guide the four main drive wheels. For those in the know, the wheel arrangement was called 4-4-0. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War, Railroads)
Bridge Out: 1864
... Library of Congress. View full size. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads, Timothy O'Sullivan) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/27/2008 - 12:15pm -

May 25, 1864. "North Anna River, Virginia. Destroyed bridge of the Richmond & Fredericksburg Railroad." Wet plate glass negative, left half of stereo pair, by Timothy H. O'Sullivan. Library of Congress. View full size. (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads, Timothy O'Sullivan)
Mammoth Plates: 1891
... or have one made to your specification. After the Civil War, American Optical, Scovill and the Henry Clay Co. were among the commercial ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:56pm -

Mexico circa 1891. "Ferrocarill Central Mexicano. Canal of Nochistongo," a drainage excavated in the 17th and 18th centuries to keep Mexico City from flooding. Note the giant camera and tripod employed by William Henry Jackson in the making of his heroically proportioned photographs, the largest of which were recorded on a medium the archivists call "mammoth plates" -- glass negatives that measured 18 by 22 inches. (This particular image was made on an 8x10 inch glass plate -- what modern photographers would consider "large format," but still only a fifth the size of an 18x22.) Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Big CamerasWere those "Mammoth Plate" cameras custom or home made or were they available commercially? ImpressiveI used to shoot a lot of landscapes in large format (4x5) before the digital age hit photography. I can identify with these gents lugging all that equipment around but not to the extent they did. I cannot imagine 18x22 in the field. My hat's off to them. That's an extremely hard thing to do. Unsteady footingOne slip, and goodbye large format camera, tripod and photographer! PerspectiveIs anyone fooled by the perspective here? It doesn't look like that ledge is tall enough for the train to look as tiny as it does! The Big Picture>> Were those "Mammoth Plate" cameras custom or home made or were they available commercially? If you were a photographer in the mid 19th century you'd most likely buy a prefab lens assembly and make the box yourself (not that complicated, as most cameras then didn't have shutters), or have one made to your specification. After the Civil War, American Optical, Scovill and the Henry Clay Co. were among the commercial makers of big view and box cameras. A nice selection here. Rapido corren los carrosMakes me think of a rolling "rrrrrr" tongue-twister a Mexican priest taught me many years ago: "Rapido corren los carros cargados de azucar de los ferrocarriles." Glass PlatesGlass plates were coated on the spot. Or at least the night before. The glass was the expensive part, the silver nitrate emulsion came in either screw top tins or light tight jars, and were coated in the field. If the plate negative was not satisfactory it was a simple matter to strip the emulsion, recoat the glass plate and try again. [You're thinking of the wet-plate negatives used around the time of the Civil War. Most glass plates made after 1880 (including this one) are dry-plate negatives -- coated with emulsion by the manufacturer and presensitized. - Dave] Little Town in the backgroundI like how you can make out the little town in the background of the photo. You can see the big church with its dome and towers. Very nice picture. I wonder where in Mexico this was taken. Nochistongo CutThe little town in the background distance of the photo is Huehuetoca, State of Mexico. The domed church that you can see in the distance is still there and can be located near the center of town on google maps. This impressive ditch called the Nochistongo Cut (El Tajo de Nochistongo) was dug by hand (mostly indigenous near slaves) starting, if I recall correctly, in about 1607 and took about 120 years to complete. It is said that up to 30,000 laborers were worked to death in the process, though I haven’t seen any historical texts confirming it. Considering the times & place it could easily be true. It’s about 45 miles from Mexico City and is visible (the ditch) in satellite view though the waterway is obscured by trees & bushes. The railroad still passes there but there are 4 lines now. The area is rapidly filling up with outer suburbs of the capital. It was dug in an effort to relieve the severe flooding Mexico City was subject to ever since the Spanish conquest, when the Spaniards as a tactic destroyed some of the protective dikes the Aztecs and their precursors had erected to regulate water flow in the Valley of Mexico and then proceeded to erect their own capital city on the ruins. Ultimately the cut was not successful at stopping the flooding, as Mexico City was sinking slowly into the mud of the ancient lake beds, leaving the drainage collectors too high to drain all of the low areas of the city. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson)
War Effort: 1865
... Virginia. Unloading Federal supplies from transports." Civil War glass negative collection, Library of Congress. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/18/2014 - 8:22pm -

Circa 1865. "City Point, Virginia. Unloading Federal supplies from transports." Civil War glass negative collection, Library of Congress. View full size. Walking Beam EngineLove the walking beam engine on the Columb(ia?). I have always been impressed with how large they were. Primitive logisticsIn examining this photo, it is useful to remember that the Federal army was operating in enemy territory; that the South's infrastructure had deteriorated; and a line route for the railroad was not available because Richmond had not been taken. I suspect the size of the shipping was dictated by the James River and the decay of the docks. I have not seen a good book on the logistics of the Civil War. Perhaps someone could suggest a title? General George Gordon MeadeI apologize if my English is not very good. I'm from Cádiz (Spain), where General George Gordon Meade was born in 1815. I am very concerned for his involvement in the American Civil War (it was a bit controversial) and especially by his father, Richard Worsam Meade, who died in 1828 in Philadelphia. Richard Worsam Meade had a large fleet of boats in Cádiz, but lost everything in the war against Napoleon for his generosity to the Spanish cause. Was imprisoned in the Castle of Santa Catalina in Cadiz due to debts contracted. When he was released back to the United States. Technology Moves SlowlyAs in previous views of City Point (now Hopewell, VA, it appears from modern maps), one is struck by how primitive the operation was considering it was the main front in one of the biggest wars in US history. Contrary to the impression from history books, most of the logistsics ships are sail rather than steam (and this is some 50 miles up the James River from its mouth -- much more efficiently handled by a steam ship). On land, it's draft animals pulling wagons, not railroads, although the latter were common in the time period and actually did play a role at City Point. Another peculiarity is the ramshackle appearance of the infrastructure -- no neatly organized piers with cranes on them, as we would expect in more recent conflicts, but a maze of pilings separating the berths for the ships from the shore, with no obvious way to get the cargoes across the shoals but lighterage, and what might be the decking of a pier being laid in the foreground. I think the railroad was operatingIt can bee seen in the background of this shot https://www.shorpy.com/node/17027 (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War)
Cameron Hill: 1864
... THAT CAPS LOCK KEY - STOP - DAVE] (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/18/2008 - 5:57pm -

1864. "Chattanooga, Tennessee. Adams Express office and the Crutchfield house with Cameron Hill in the distance." Photographer unknown. View full size. Now an insurance companyCameron Hill still dominates downtown Chattanooga, but because of today's buildings it's impossible to duplicate this view, which is generally from the southeast looking northwest. The hill is also thick with trees on the northeast and east sides but the top overlooks the Tennessee River. Until a few years ago the top was residential but now an insurance company is building its headquarters up there, dominating the downtown. READ HOUSE HOTELBRICK BUILING IN LEFT SIDE OF PICTURE IS THE READ HOUSE HOTEL. WHICH STILL IN BUSINESS IN THIS SAME LOCATION. IT'S IN A NEWER BUILDING OF COURSE. MOST OF THE TOP OF CAMERON HILL WAS USED AS FILL FOR A DOWNTOWN FREEWAY,IN THE 1960S. NOW THE HUGE INSURANCE CO. [MANY THANKS FOR TELEGRAM - STOP - MIGHT WANT TO CHECK THAT CAPS LOCK KEY - STOP - DAVE] (The Gallery, Civil War, Railroads)
[1]2next ›last »
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.