Bureau County in the Civil War

03/25/2026

My Top 50 Most Classic Photos of the Civil War. HERE'S #47. Soldiers and works near the Twin Houses along the Williamsburg Road at Seven Pines, east of Richmond. Often used as the sole photo to discuss the Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines (before the Seven Days fights). the peculiar Twin Houses were intended as wings to be connected as part of a larger mansion. This view also has men drilling int he background and two sleeping on and next to a limber chest--who are easier to see in the hi-res version linked in the first comment.

03/25/2026

Lots of cool details in this late-war close-up near City Point: laundry, bell, barrels, rigging, foreground soldiers, easy and hard-to-read vessel names, reflections, lotsa buttons and more! Full plate linked in the first comment

03/25/2026

03/25/2026

My Top 50 Most-Classic Photos of the Civil War. HERE'S #48: Lee & Gordon's Mills on the south end of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. This 1864 view is part of an extensive series recorded by George Barnard as he moved southward to Atlanta in the wake of engagements. He later secured more photos of this area in 1866. This view has become a classic because of the paucity of Chickamauga photos (and therefore it has been oft-used to illustrate that part of the war) and because we can still line it up, with the same terrain and creek with a replacement structure standing there. Anyone want to post their modern views? Photo is from a two-page spread in Miller's Photographic History of the Civil War.

03/25/2026

03/25/2026

A new video unveiling and a description of the American Battlefield Trust’s first Birdseye Battle painting in the style of artist David Greenspan (bottom photo), who captivated so many of us in his American Heritage and Golden Book works. Video link in the first comment and elsewhere is the link to support preservation at Gaines' Mill and get a small poster!

01/30/2026

Super tight detail, showing General George Gordon Meade at war‘s end with sword, mourning band, gloves, monocle, cool belt, and an even cooler adjustable chair! The Army of the Potomac existed for nearly four years; Meade took command 6-28-63 and (from memory) it disbanded exactly two years later. He was by far that army’s longest serving commander. You will likely recognize some officers in the full plate, linked in the first comment.

10/30/2025

“HIDDEN” ANTIETAM: A NAME ON THE DUNKER CHURCH — Henry Winters of the 89th New York etched his name on a windowsill of the Dunker Church at Antietam battlefield. The 89th New York fought on the southern end of the field on Sept. 17, 1862, so Winters may have done his etching at a veterans reunion after the war.

Learn more about the etching on Episode 49 of “The Antietam And Beyond Podcast,” co-hosted by Tom McMillan and me. Guest Alann Schmidt talks about the interesting history of the Dunker Church, a battlefield landmark.

+ LISTEN (44-minute mark): https://antietambeyond.transistor.fm/episodes/alann-schmidt-on-the-dunker-church-at-antietam-battlefield

+ SUBSCRIBE: https://antietambeyond.transistor.fm/subscribe

The podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails. |

10/30/2025

10/30/2025

I had to significantly adjust the shadows, contrast and exposure but the well-worth it result is this cool, posed detail with Pa. cavalry line and field officers drinkin’ & smokin’! Summer 1862 on the Virginia Peninsula. Full plate linked in the first comment