Civil War Photo Sleuth

06/04/2026

We were grateful for the opportunity to give a presentation about our latest work with the Civil War Photo Sleuth project at Virginia Tech's 2026 Civil War Weekend, hosted by the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies.

05/30/2026

Historians estimate that at least 400 women presented themselves as men and fought in the Civil War, on both sides of the conflict. However, verified portraits of these female soldiers are rare. In this issue of Military Images, we debunk some supposed period photos of female Civil War soldiers that are misidentified or just plain fake.

Why many images of women soldiers are misidentified or fake—and how research separates verified portraits from myths in Civil War history.

04/30/2026

We need to catch you all up on some recent photo sleuthing!

We identified this Civil War couple CDV in the The Library of Congress as Maj. Alphonzo Nicholds, Paymaster, and his wife, Julia Rosella Wheeler Nicholds, circa 1863-64.

Read all about it in the Winter 2026 issue of Military Images:

Research into a Civil War portrait reveals Alphonzo Nicholds and his wife, Julia, showing how photo sleuthing can restore names and stories to forgotten images.

12/02/2025

CAMP BERRY: NEW YORK INDEPENDENT BATTERY OFFICERS
Matthew Hensley posted a recent eBay find in the Civil War Faces group (see, below), noting that the "[o]fficers names and units were scratched on the front and back of the tintype," which was "taken at Camp Barry[,] Washington D.C. [on] Mar 25th, 1864[,] right before the spring campaign kicked off. Matthew also explained that from "the information scratched on the tintype, we also know the following:

Standing left: Lt Charles A. Clark 27th NY Indp Batty
Standing right: Lt Otis L. Drake 33rd NY Indp Batty
Sitting left: Lt John J. Teller 27th NY Indp Batty
Sitting Middle: Lt Orville S. Dewey 33rd NY Indp Batty
Sitting Right: Capt Alger M. Wheeler 33rd NY Indp Batty
Sitting on ground: Lt Peter L. Moore 27th NY Indp Batty"

Mr. Henley stated hopefully that "the pine tree backdrop apparently used by a DC photographer at Camp Barry [might] help identify the location of some other unidentified images."

Professor Kurt Luther wrote an article for Military Images magazine in 2018 about a carte de visite, gifted to him, showing a group portrait of N.Y. artillery officers which also was taken at Camp Berry. Remarkably, the carte includes three of the same officers seen in Mr. Hensley's tintype: Moore, Clark, and Dewey. Here is a link to Kurt's article: https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2018/06/05/photo-sleuth-summer-2018/

In that article, Prof. Luther revealed that on the back of the carte was a photographer’s mark by Oliver H. Willard of Philadelphia, and that the carte lacked a backstamp, most likely dating it to before the imposition of tax stamps in August 1864 (and, therefore, raising the possibility that it was created within the same timeframe as the tintype). Kurt, in his bulldog way of researching, also determined, for example, that Orville Smith Dewey, pictured in both, served in two infantry regiments, two light artillery batteries, received a wounding at Antietam, was promoted from private to first lieutenant during the war, served in the 4th U.S. Cavalry post-war, and died from yellow fever in New Orleans in 1867.

Take a deep dive into this one.

By Craig Heberton IV

09/25/2025

Tomorrow afternoon (9/26/25), Kurt Luther will be presenting on Civil War photo sleuthing at The Daguerreian Society annual symposium in Hartford, CT and virtually. Hope to see you there!

Portraits in the Stream of Time: Images of “Indians” Henry David Thoreau Encountered in New EnglandJane-Turano Thompson

09/23/2025

In our latest blog post, Kurt Luther writes about how generative AI can help and hinder Civil War photo sleuthing. This article also appears in the latest issue of Military Images magazine.

How to use generative AI in Civil War photo sleuthing: reverse image search, facial recognition, backdrop matching, better prompts, bias checks, and cautions.

04/18/2025

Kurt Luther and Ron Coddington will be co-presenting next Thursday evening about Civil War Photo Sleuth and our new non-profit, The Photo Sleuth Foundation. The event will be held at Virginia Tech's beautiful new Innovation Campus in Alexandria. Plus, there will be food and beer. Please join us!

Just one week until Tech on Tap!

Join us on Thursday, April 24th for Tech on Tap at Virginia Tech's Innovation Campus Academic Building One. Kurt Luther, associate professor of history and computer science at Virginia Tech, will present his research on developing technologies rediscovering the lost names and stories behind historical photos. Your $10 registration includes appetizers, two drink tickets and a $5 gift to the Center for Human-Computer Interaction.

Register here: https://aimsbbis.vt.edu/techontap425

03/09/2025

Photo Sleuth is now a non-profit organization! Our mission is to rediscover the names and stories of unknown people in historical photos through research, technology, and community.

Read more about our mission and vision on our new website here:

For years, Civil War Photo Sleuth (CWPS) has been dedicated to helping historians, genealogists, and enthusiasts identify the unknown faces of the past. Through a unique combination of facial recog…

10/01/2024

Our latest column in Military Images identifies for the first time the photographer behind a famous pair of Civil War portraits featuring a USCT drummer boy.

The photographer behind the iconic photograph of the USCT drummer boy is identified after previously unknown portraits surface: Oscar F. Douglas.

09/17/2024

I want to give a shout out to the Civil War Photo Sleuth in helping me identify one of my new to me images. Their program was able to identify my gem type as William Fitzsimmons: Co.C 35th Massachusetts infantry and 2nd Battalion Veteran Reserve Corps, wounded 12/13/1862 at Fredericksburg, VA. If you have images and would like to try to identify the men, try the Civil War Photo Sleuth: www.civilwarphotosleuth.com