Inspired by the presence of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s traveling exhibition Photography and the American Civil War at the New Orleans Museum of Art this spring, graduate and undergraduate students studying the history of the Civil War at the University of New Orleans have each chosen one image from the exhibition and written about it.  Fitting with the theme of the blog, they considered how the experiences of individuals can advance our understanding of the war and its effects on American society and culture.  Over the next week or two, these essays will be posted on 19thcenturylives.org.  While we could not reproduce all of the exhibition’s images, alternate copies of many of the photographs, on deposit at the Library of Congress and other public archives, and have been included here.

[Private William Sargent of Co. E, 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, in uniform, after the amputation of both arms]
Bundy & Williams, photographer
ca. 1861-65
1 photographic print on carte de visite mount : albumen ; 9.7 x 6.1 cm (mount)
Library of Congress