Civil War Photo Sleuth

07/06/2026

NEWLY IDENTIFIED USCT PHOTOS, PART 3 of 3. Here is the final post in our series detailing the third of three newly identified USCT group portraits from our recent article in Military Images.

This photo, taken by William Morris Smith, shows Company H, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry at Fort Stevens. Fort Stevens was made famous as the site of the only Civil War battle to take place in Washington, D.C., and where President Abraham Lincoln came under enemy fire from Confederate sharpshooters. The exact date of this photo isn't known, but estimated to be ca. 1865.

This photo comes from The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, where it previously had the generic description "Black Civil War Soldiers." This is one of the only known wartime views of Fort Stevens, and perhaps the only photo of USCT at that location.

The photo is remarkable for other reasons. Thirty-two USCT sit on wooden benches in three rows. Seated on the opposite end of the back row, we were astonished to see a young African American woman wearing a dress and a solemn expression. Her role within the group is uncertain, but her inclusion in the photo suggests it was important.

Read the full story by Kurt Luther and Bryan Cheeseboro here: https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2026/06/07/76744/

06/30/2026

NEWLY IDENTIFIED USCT PHOTOS, PART 2 of 3. We are excited to share here, in greater detail, the second of three newly identified USCT group portraits from our recent article in Military Images.

This photo, taken by William Morris Smith, shows Company I, 107th U.S. Colored Infantry at Fort Tillinghast, a lunette in present-day Arlington, VA, on November 10, 1865. It comes from the Special Collections of the Chicago Public Library. To our knowledge, this is first and only known Civil War-era photo of Fort Tillinghast, and has not been previously published or widely seen by the public.

The lunette was named in honor of CPT Otis H. Tillinghast, a West Point graduate, Mexican War veteran, and assistant quartermaster mortally wounded at First Bull Run. Nothing remains of Fort Tillinghast today except a historical marker. But blueprints from the National Archives match the structure seen here, including the covered well in the foreground.

Read the full story by Kurt Luther and Bryan Cheeseboro here: https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2026/06/07/76744/

06/26/2026

NEWLY IDENTIFIED USCT PHOTOS, PART 1 of 3. We are excited to share here, in greater detail, the first of three newly identified USCT group portraits from our recent article in Military Images.

This photo shows Company D, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry at Fort Slocum, Washington, D.C., on November 24, 1865. It is an albumen print by William Morris Smith, who photographed numerous Union soldiers in fortifications around Washington, D.C. This photo is held in the Special Collections of the Chicago Public Library but until now was misidentified due to incorrect research inherited from Swann Auctions.

Read the full story by Kurt Luther and Bryan Cheeseboro here: https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2026/06/07/76744/

06/12/2026

We are particularly excited to share with you our latest Military Images column revealing not one but THREE newly identified group portraits of US Colored Troops (USCT) in the Civil War defenses of Washington.

Two of these photos come from the Chicago Public Library Special Collections and one comes from The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The latter was teased on the cover of the most recent issue of Battlefield Photographer from The Center for Civil War Photography. We're able to provide a deep dive in this column.

This column was co-authored by Kurt Luther and National Park Service ranger Bryan Cheeseboro.

Photo sleuths identify three rare U.S. Colored Troops group portraits, revealing their regiments, forts, photographer, and postwar service.

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.