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Remarkable Photographs From the American Civil War
The Civil War was perhaps the most destructive conflict ever fought by the United States and it was extensively photographed. While the causes were complicated, they boiled down to the issue of slavery. Here are some remarkable photographs of the people and places of the American Civil War.
Balloons Gave Them a Bird’s Eye View
Today, we’ve got spy satellites that can clearly read license plate numbers and thermal imaging systems that can see people through walls. During the civil war, field commanders also understood the strategic importance of getting an overhead view of battlefields. The Union forces formed the Union Army Balloon Corps, founded by the self-taught American scientist Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, to spy on the Confederate forces.
The balloons were filled with hydrogen gas generated by dumping iron filings into a vat of sulfuric acid and then directing the resulting gases into a balloon via a hose. One of their seven balloons, the Intrepid, was used successfully at the Battle of Seven Pines at Fair Oaks, Virginia, on June 1, 1862. Here we see Lowe preparing the Intrepid that morning by filling it with hydrogen gas from a smaller balloon. The intelligence provided by the Intrepid turned the tides of the battle.
Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky
In addition to aviation, maritime technology was also in a nascent state during the Civil War, but it was growing quickly. The Confederate side directed their attention to submarines, creating some of the first underwater vessels used in combat. The CSS H. L. Hunley was a Confederate submarine that saw some success by sinking the USS Housatonic but also sunk three times, killing its crew each time.
The Union, on the other hand, focused more on developing simple boats that could be quickly assembled that would allow their soldiers to cross rivers and lakes more easily. They took the idea of a pontoon bridge and applied it to ship-making. A pontoon bridge is a series of floating cylinders lashed together to make a quick, temporary bridge. Union engineers developed pontoon boats such as the one from 1863 seen above which were designed to facilitate scouting operations by lone Union soldiers.
Order of the Confederate Rose
The woman pictured sitting below was no ordinary 19th-century American; she was the Mata Hari of the Civil War. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, seen with her daughter standing next to her, was a Washington DC socialite before the war and a close companion of presidents, congressmen, and generals. When the war broke out, she supported the Confederacy and secretly started slipping military information to the Southern forces.
In 1861, she was put in charge of a network of southern spies, led by Confederate Army Captain Thomas Jordan, who took on the role of her handler. Confederate President Jefferson Davis later said she was instrumental in the South’s triumphant victory at the First Battle of Bull Run in July of 1861. The following year, the Union discovered her perfidy and put her and her daughter in jail for five months before deporting them to the South. She was treated like a hero.
You Can Call It Bull Run or You Can Call It Manassas
One of the most famous battles of the Civil War actually has two names. The Union forces called it the Battle of Bull Run, while the Confederate Army called it the Battle of First Manassas. It took place on July 21, 1861, in Virginia, about 30 miles west-southwest of Washington, DC. Public opinion in the Union wanted the Army to march to the Confederate capital of Richmond, so General McDowell gave in to the pressure and marched 18,000 inexperienced and untrained men toward the city.
18,000 Confederate troops who came by train waited for them nearby, and the two sides fought. Both sides suffered heavy losses and everyone present was horrified at the violence. It was at this battle that the North realized the war would be long and arduous and would cost many lives on both sides. This photo is of the area a few months later.
It Was Created to Stop Counterfeiting
During the Civil War, there was a huge problem with counterfeiting; at one point, it was estimated that almost one-third of all the currency in circulation was fake. President Lincoln needed to do something about it, so on July 5, 1865, he created the Secret Service in Washington. There were only a handful of other federal law enforcement agencies in existence at the time, and none of them knew anything about counterfeiting.
Unfortunately for Lincoln, the Secret Service would not be responsible for guarding the life of the President until 1901, after the assassination of another president, William McKinley. Here, we see a rare photograph of President Lincoln from October 3, 1862, taken at the headquarters for the Army of the Potomac near Antietam, Maryland. With the 16th President is General John A. McClernand on the right, and E. J. Allen (Allan Pinkerton, left), Chief of the Secret Service, left.
The O & A Railroad
In the mid-1800s, the railways were revolutionizing travel across the United States. When the Civil War broke out, there was only one line that ran between the capital cities of the opposing sides: the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Running from Richmond, Virginia through Orange County, to the city of Alexandria, and on to Washington DC seven miles further, the O&A, as it’s known, was of strategic importance to both sides.
The railroad changed hands several times during the war and played a major role in both Battles of Bull Run in 1861 and 1862. Colonel Herman Haupt was the engineer that was put in charge of building and running the Union’s military railroad system, and in this photo from 1865, you can see him personally supervising the repair of a bridge on the Orange & Alexandria line. After the war, Haupt returned to civil enginnering, designing railroads, tunnels, bridges, and pipelines.
More About Bull Run and the O&A Railroad
The First Battle of Bull Run, also called the Battle of First Manassas, was fought in only one day, July 21, 1861, and ended in a decisive Confederate victory. It was the first major battle of the entire Civil War, and both sides were unprepared, and mostly wanted to simply feel each other out. The Union felt that the Confederacy would be easy to defeat, but realized by the end of the battle that the war would be long and drawn out, with many casualties on both sides.
The Union was slow to respond, which allowed the South to bring in more troops by train and ultimately claim victory. Bull Run is located between the Union capital of Washington DC and the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, and was therefore very strategic ground. A train from the Orange and Alexandria Railroad can be seen here rolling through the devastated countryside.
The Battle of Second Manassas
The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas, was the first major battle of the war and set the tone for the fighting that followed. One year later, the two sides met again at the same location. By then, both sides knew what to expect and were more prepared, and understood what was needed in terms of equipment and strategy. The second battle was much bigger, with about 77,000 men fighting for the Union and 50,000 on the Confederate side.
By the time it was over, more than 21,000 men on both sides had been killed, captured, or gone missing, with twice as many casualties on the Union side than the Confederacy. In this photograph, men are surveying damaged railway tracks at Manassas Junction in March 1862, in between the two battles. Those tracks were repaired and destroyed several times over during the war.
The Evacuation of Fort Sumter
The First Battle of the Bull Run was the first major battle of the Civil War, but the taking of Fort Sumter was really the first conflict. Fort Sumter was an American fort located near Charleston, South Carolina, and when the South seceded, they demanded that the US Army abandon it. When they refused, the Confederates gave them an ultimatum. Leave by 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, or be destroyed. They chose to stay.
The South bombarded Fort Sumter with dozens of cannons that were located on boats offshore. The Fort tried to fire back but was badly outgunned. After 34 hours, the US Army agreed to evacuate the fort. This photo of the evacuation shows only a handful of the 85 men who quickly gathered their personal belongings and left the fort for the Confederacy. No one from either side was killed, but the North was left embarrassed.
Zeppelin Lead an Interesting Life
In the short time that the Confederate States of America was an independent nation, they did their best to establish foreign relations. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, the Confederate spy who was a hero to the South was sent to France and Britain in 1863-64 on a diplomatic mission. Also in 1863, the German inventor and general Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, seen below with the white mustache, traveled to Virginia to observe troops of the North’s Army of the Potomac.
While in the US, Count Zeppelin met Thaddeus Lowe and saw the balloon camp that he had established. In Saint Paul, Minnesota, the Count took his first aerial flight in a balloon, and he loved it. After he returned to his home in Germany, he set to work creating a new kind of transportation. His invention, the Zeppelin airship, became the leading way to fly until the invention of the airplane.
Doré the Exploré
Most of the combatants in any war are from the countries involved in the conflict, but there are always a few people who come from another place and join the fight for love, money or both. The Civil War was no exception. One of the most storied foreign fighters of the Civil War was a man named George Henry Doré. Doré was an Englishman who was born on June 24, 1845, on the Isle of Wight.
He made his way to the United States and joined the 126th New York Infantry in New York on August 22, 1862. After the Battle of Harpers Ferry, he was captured, but released just a day later. He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, at which he earned himself a Medal of Honor by facing gunfire from all sides while saving a Union flag. Doré died in New York on February 8, 1927.
The Surrender of Richmond
By 1865, after a long siege, the Confederates’ capital city of Richmond, Virginia was on the verge of falling. On April 2nd of that year, a date which came to be known as Evacuation Sunday, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet finally decided to evacuate Richmond and the nearby city of Petersburg. They got on a train running on the only line that was still operational, the Richmond and Danville.
Before they left, though, they gave one final order to the troops who had been faithfully guarding the city- burn it all. The retreating Confederate soldiers burned warehouses, armories, and bridges as they fled. The fires spread and destroyed the rest of the city, as can be seen in this photograph of Carey Street in Richmond after the evacuation of the city. Within a week after the fall of Richmond, the war was over and President Lincoln was dead.
The Fort on the Hill
After the Union’s shocking defeat at Bull Run, they knew they had to quickly improve Washington DC’s defenses. South of Alexandria, an elevated area near Mount Eagle called Ballenger's Hill overlooks all the southern approaches to Washington as well as the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, the Columbia and LIttle River Turnpikes, and Telegraph Road. On top of that hill, the Union built Fort Lyon out of mud and timber.
Generals Horatio Wright and John Newton were put in charge of construction, and soon the Fort was ready. The 34th Massachusetts Infantry was stationed there, and they can be seen in this photograph of their encampment near the fort. The tents in which they slept can be clearly seen behind the men as they stand in formation. Today, the only thing that remains of Fort Lyon is a historical marker that was put up by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Tintype Of Creed Miller
During the war, over 200,000 African-Americans fought for the Union side. Some were former slaves who escaped to the north via the Underground Railroad, an informal network of safe houses that led to freedom. Others were never slaves, but fought for the Union out of patriotism or to help the slaves down south. One remarkable soldier, seen here in this tintype photograph, was a man named Creed Miller.
Creed Miller was a soldier in Kentucky’s 107th Regiment and had this photo taken of himself. A tintype is an old type of photography technique that uses a thin sheet of metal that has been coated with a dark enamel. The detail in both the photo and the case in which it’s kept is remarkable. Mr. Miller can be seen wearing a dark coat and bow tie, and his military identification pin is displayed in the red velvet-lined case.
They Called It the Dictator
Mortars are large, cannon-like guns that can fire enormous shells at great distances. In the final years of the Civil War, Union forces were trying to take Petersburg, Virginia, near the Confederate capital. When General Ulysses S. Grant failed to take Petersburg directly, he put the city under a long and grueling siege. He also subjected the city to continuous artillery fire. In this photo, we see Union soldiers standing on a bridge in Petersburg manning a giant mortar that they named “Dictator”.
The largest mortar in the Union arsenal, the Dictator had a 13-inch bore and weighed over 17,000 pounds. It was too heavy to be used on the battlefield, and so it was best suited for defensive fortification and for use in sieges. Each time it was fired, it used 20 pounds of gunpowder to fire a 218-pound shell up to two and a half miles.
Fightin’ Phil Fought Ferociously
This is a photo of Union Army General Philip Henry Sheridan, who was known as "Little Phil" and "Fightin' Phil", and who was a career US Army officer who fought in the Civil War. He became close with General-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant and quickly rose through the ranks to become a general himself. As head of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, he defeated Confederate General Jubal Early in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley in 1864.
As part of his victory at Shenandoah, Sheridan burned much of the economic infrastructure of the valley which was considered the first case of using scorched-earth tactics in the war. His infantry also played a key role in forcing the surrender of General Lee at The Battle of Sailor's Creek, which quickly led to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. Here, he can be seen sitting in front of his tent on the battlefield.
A Wagon Train at Port Royal
Virginia’s Port Royal is located on the Rappahannock River and played a very strategic role in the Civil War. Located about 70 miles south of Washington, DC, the Rappahannock runs parallel to the Potomac River which itself leads directly to the national capital. The people who lived at Port Royal quickly joined the Confederacy and fought with the Union at Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Richmond, and participated in fighting the Union Army of Virginia during the Siege of Petersburg.
Port Royal was not only a significant military post, but it also was an important supply depot. Located close to many of the richest families in Virginia, they counted on ship traffic at the port to bring them all the goods they were used to receiving and was the main location from which their crops could be shipped around the country and the world. Here, we see a wagon train at the port.
Nothing Could Be Finer Than This Port in Carolina
Fort Putnam was located on Morris Island in South Carolina south of Charleston and not far from Fort Sumter in the easternmost part of the state. The Confederates kept a small garrison stationed there, and in the early morning hours of Monday, September 7, 1863, Union troops attacked the Fort. The Union had a siege on the island, and by September 6th, the Confederate forces knew the end was in sight and abandoned the fort.
Union troops quickly moved in and occupied the fort. On the next day, Union forces, amped up on their recent victories, tried to take the nearby Fort Sumter but they failed. Fort Putnam was quickly razed to the ground. This photograph, taken sometime between 1861 and 1865, shows mounted cannons inside the fort. It is not known who took the photo, but it’s now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The Siege of Petersburg
One of the most important protracted battles of the Civil War was the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia. It took place from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, and was not a traditional siege. Usually, a siege is when a city is surrounded by enemy forces that do not allow any goods to go in or out of the city, thus starving the people inside. The Siege of Petersburg consisted of eight months of trench warfare in the city and its surroundings.
Petersburg was close to Richmond, the Confederate capital, and was an important target for Union forces on their way to destroying the enemy capital and winning the war. General Grant first tried to attack directly, and when that didn’t work, he set up a series of trenches outside the city from which he would fire mortars on the city. Here you can see Union soldiers in those trenches.
Enter the Zouaves
The Zouaves were a group of soldiers in the French Army, most of whom served in North Africa. The name comes from the Zwawa people, a tribe of African Berbers who initially made up the fighting force, although soon anyone could join, and many French warriors did. In the American Civil War, various groups of fighters took on the name Zouaves and modeled their tactics and uniforms on the French group.
Elmer E. Ellsworth, who coincidentally was the first person killed in the Civil War from either side, brought the Zouaves to the attention of the US. By the end of the war, there were 70 Zouave regiments fighting for the Union and about 25 regiments who fought for the Confederates. Here we see a wounded Zouave soldier being offered a drink from a canteen after the Battle of Chancellorsville. His distinctive uniform was modeled after the original French uniforms.
The Battle of Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry is a small town in West Virginia located where the Potomac River and the Shenandoah River meet. It became an important place in the Revolutionary War when General George Washington established a Federal arsenal there in 1799. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, abolitionist John Brown initiated a slave revolt there in order to capture weapons to be used against the North.
John Brown’s raid was a precursor to the Civil War, and during the war itself, an important battle was fought at Harpers Ferry in September of 1862. Robert E. Lee sent Stonewall Jackson to the Union Garrison there, and he took it fairly easily. It was one of the greatest Southern victories of the war. In this photo, Union soldiers sit in their camp awaiting the next phase of the battle. Note the American flag hanging in their tent, as well as the various faces.
Second Confiscation and Militia Acts
When the Civil War first broke out, free Black men in the North rushed to join the Army, but most were turned away. It wasn’t until 1861 that the United States began to look for ways to recruit African Americans. 1861, two important acts were passed by Congress to further that end. The Second Confiscation Act freed any slave whose master joined the Confederacy or in any other way committed treason.
The Militia Act said that any state that could not recruit enough soldiers could implement a draft. Both became law on July 17, 1862, and on January 1st of the following year, Lincoln made his famous Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all the slaves in the Confederate states. These events led to a mass migration of African Americans to the north, and many of them joined the fight in the hope that after the war, they would become full citizens.
What Did Civil War Soldiers Do for Fun?
It’s certainly no fun being in a war, and Civil War soldiers were kept very busy. When they weren’t actively fighting, they were making camp and preparing for the next battle. However, in the meager free time they did have, soldiers amused themselves in a variety of ways. The game of Baseball wouldn’t exist as we know it until after the war, but variations had been played since the 1700s, and Lincoln was said to have been a fan.
Union soldiers played baseball, and those that were captured by the South taught it to their Confederate captors. As seen in this photograph, card games were also a popular way for soldiers to pass the time. Games such as 5-card stud poker were commonplace, as were trick-taking games such as Whist. They also played a card game known as Beggar My Neighbour, which was similar to the modern card game War.
Tennessee, Tennessee, Ain’t No Place I’d Rather Be
The Tennessee River is a tributary of the mighty Ohio River and acts as a sort of gateway to the south. When Fort Henry, a defensive fort where the Tennessee River begins, fell in 1862, it was the first major victory of the Union over the South and opened up a way for Union forces to move into the heart of the Confederate States. Steamboats were most commonly used on rivers in the south to ferry men and equipment to the fight.
On February 6, 1862, the first exploratory flotilla made its way down the river. Led by Commander Seth Phelps on the armored gunboat Champion, three ships made their way down the river. Confederate forces ended up destroying the flotilla, but Union forces were eventually able to use the river to move deep into the southern states and attack from within. Here, we see steamboats on the Tennessee River.
The Fighting 153rd From New York
In this photograph, we see members of the 153rd New York Infantry. The 153rd was formed in Fonda, a small town on the Mohawk River about 45 miles northwest of Albany. The 153rd was created on August 23, 1862, for the Civil War, and was disbanded on October 2, 1865, after the war, in Savannah, Georgia, where they ended up. The infantry was commanded by Colonel Duncan McMartin of the Union Army.
Their first assignment was to guard Washington DC, and from there they were sent to join the campaign in the south. They fought in the Battle of Sabine Cross Roads in Lousiana on April 8, 1864, and at Alexandria, Virginia, on April 26-May 13. They then returned to Washington DC and fought in the Battle of Fort Stevens in July. They lost 200 men during their time of service; 40 were to war injuries and 160 to disease.
The 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
Another important infantry regiment was the 83rd Pennsylvania, made up of volunteers. They fought as part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps, in the Army of the Potomac, and saw action in almost every major battle fought in the East. They also suffered the second-most number of deaths of any infantry unit in the Union forces (second only to the 5th New Hampshire regiment).
During their time serving in the war, they lost a total of 435 men, which was about 25% of their entire regiment. 282 men died in combat and 153 died of disease. They were led by the awesomely-named Colonel Strong Vincent, who died as a result of wounds suffered defending Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was replaced by Colonel John McLane, who had nothing to do with Bruce Willis. Here, we see Sergeant Alex Rogers displaying the unit’s battle flag.
Minor Injuries Were a Death Sentence
For the soldiers themselves, the timing of the Civil War couldn't have been worse. The war came at a time when military technology was advancing but before the modernization of medicine and health care. This led to a huge number of casualties, due to both combat injuries and disease. Fully 2% of the American population died in the war. Weapons were more lethal, yet doctors of that era knew nothing about germs and didn’t even attempt to keep surgeries sterile.
Even small wounds invariably became infected, and when the infected limb was amputated without sterilization or anesthetic, systemic sepsis would set in and the soldier would die. Many soldiers also died of typhoid or dysentery. Doctors even thought that the appearance of pus was a good sign which indicated healing, when in fact the exact opposite was true. In this image, we see a wartime hospital ward in Alexandria Virginia.
The Weather Is Beastly but All Is Well That Ends Well. Your Loving Son, Patrick.
Writing letters home was a common pastime for Civil War soldiers, and was the primary way they could communicate with loved ones back home. In their letters, the soldiers described the brutal conditions in which they lived, but also expressed a remarkable amount of optimism and hope for the future. Their loved ones would write back, evoking the sights, sounds, and smells of their lives wherever they were from.
A soldier’s family could also sometimes send them a pie or cake, and receiving a package at home was certainly a special occasion for the men. Post Offices were set up inside forts and camps, and soldiers would buy paper, envelopes, pens, and ink from merchants that followed the army selling supplies. Union soldiers could send letters free of charge as long as they wrote "Soldier's Letter" on the envelope. Confederate soldiers weren’t as fortunate; they had to use postage stamps.
From the Civil War to Alaska
Captain John Caldwell Tidball was born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), and grew up on a farm in Ohio. He graduated from the United States Military Academy Class at West Point in 1848 and started his service. By the time the Civil War broke out, he was quickly promoted to captain and became the commander of Company A in the 2nd US Artillery.
Captain Tidball participated in all the major campaigns in the eastern theater of war, from the First Battle of Bull Run through the Siege of Petersburg. President Lincoln himself commended him for his bravery and intelligent use of tactics at Gettysburg. Interestingly, Tidball is credited with being the first one to have Taps played at military funerals, a tradition that is still in effect today. Here we see Captain Tidball posing with his staff at Fair Oakes, Virginia. After the war, he retired to Alaska.
Frederick Douglass Encouraged Them to Join
After the passage of the Second Confiscation and Militia acts, African Americans were able to join the Union army, but at first, recruitment was slow. When the Emancipation Proclamation was announced about six months later, the Union Army began recruiting African Americans in earnest, but they were reluctant to fight for a country that didn’t claim them as citizens. However, black leaders soon began advising those who followed them to join.
The famous orator, writer, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass encouraged African Americans to join the Army, saying that their service would force the government to offer them citizenship. He said, “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”
They Performed Innumerable Crucial Tasks
About 200,000 African Americans served during the Civil War, with almost 40,000 dying during the conflict. Racism meant that African Americans weren’t given combat assignments, and some were afraid of giving them guns in case they turned against their white commanders.
So they performed all the noncombat wartime jobs that were necessary for supporting the Army. They were spies and surgeons, steamboat captains and teamsters, scouts, guards, chaplains, and cooks.
A Visit From Abraham Lincoln
President Lincoln is regarded as one of the most important and successful US presidents. Leading a country through civil war and out the other side is a daunting task, but he left a striking impression with his self-taught legal education, his distinctive top hat, and his imposing height. In the photo below, Lincoln can be seen visiting soldiers encamped at the battlefield of Antietam in Maryland.
Antietam was one of the bloodiest battles in the entire Civil War, with over 22,000 casualties on both sides. The battle led to a stunning victory for the Union troops, who were perhaps inspired by the presidential visit. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate forces were being chased by a Union army under the command of Major General George B. McClellan when the southern army took a defensive position behind a small creek called Antietam. The Union victory was a turning point in the war.
Years of Reconstruction and Healing
The US Civil War was the most devastating war ever fought on US soil, and the deadliest war in US history if you count deaths due to disease as well as combat. After the war, the country stood traumatized and divided, and it took decades to heal the damage.
The assassination of Lincoln right after the war ended evinced not only the continued national division but also indicated how difficult recovery would be. Here you can see two soldiers who were once the enemy of one another. Sitting during the ceremony
The USS Lehigh Joins the Fight
On January 17, 1863, a warship was launched from the Philadelphia Navy Yard and quickly joined the Civil War. The new ship was a Passaic-class monitor. A monitor is a kind of warship that is fairly small and does not have a lot of armor, speed, or maneuvering capabilities.
What a monitor does have, however, are big guns- much bigger than one might expect considering the size of the ship.
West Point Graduates Fought on Both Sides
By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, the barracks and other facilities had been modernized, along with the weapons and tactics training. 294 graduates served as officers in the Union Army, and 151 graduates were officers in the Confederate Army.
In some battles, West Point classmates faced each other across the battlefield commanding opposite sides. Almost every battle of the Civil War was led by a West Point graduate.
These Rare Photos Show an Unfamiliar Side of History
Before the internet and social media were a thing, photos were harder to come by. Now, we are exposed to hundreds of images every day; so much so that one might think that photography has lost its wow factor. But, taken all over the world, these photos really show how humans have developed - how far our culture, technology, and politics have come.
Ivan Unger and Gladys Roy - Extreme Sports
Back in the days when flying was a luxury only a few could experience, many more people were confused and worried about how these heavy metal objects would remain airborne. But, daredevil athletes like these two clearly believed that they could make the whole experience even more exciting by showcasing a death-defying stunt.
Ivan Unger and Gladys Roy were the two responsible for this jaw-dropping stunt on the wings of a biplane in 1925. The two were successful in playing what has to have been the most dangerous game of tennis ever played and, as biplanes are a thing of the past, a stunt like this is unlikely ever to be pulled off again.
A Hip Ride at the Circus
Native to Sub-Saharan Africa, hippos are deadly, violent animals easily capable of outrunning a human and biting one's arm off. But that didn’t stop the entertainment industry from trying to make use of them during the 1920s.
This image depicts a trained circus performer riding a hippo. Although today, most of us find the use of wild animals in this way to be upsetting and we are no doubt more informed over the risks, you have to admit this has to have been a spectacular show.
Gas! Gas! Quick Boys!
World War I brought many horrors into the world and one of those that terrified the inhabitants of England the most was poison gas. The whole nation was dreading the next war and taking all the precautions they could to prepare for any type of attack.
This stunning image, taken in Britain in 1939, is clear evidence of the post-war paranoia that still persists to this day to some degree. Still eight months before the start of World War II, people were preparing for the worst.
Lepa Radić's Defiant Last Stand
Lepa Radić was only 17 years old when this photo was taken and her life was ended. Born in 1925, this photo taken on February 8th, 1943 shows her last moments as she was hanged for her involvement in the resistance against the Axis powers in World War II.
As her Nazi captors tied the noose around her neck, they offered her a chance to live should she reveal the names of her accomplices. Lepa refused, saying, "I am not a traitor of my people. Those whom you are asking about will reveal themselves when they have succeeded in wiping out all you evildoers, to the last man." She was dead minutes after this photo was snapped.
A Russian Royal Flush
To the uninformed audience, this photo could be considered nothing more than a man playing sports in his garden. Nothing out of the ordinary and certainly not worth including in the list. That is, until you realize that the man is actually one of the most famous men of the early twentieth century.
Yes, the photograph shows the last Emperor of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II. In this rare candid shot, you can see him taking some downtime from ruling his empire to blow off some steam with a friend. On closer inspection, you will see that he is still sporting his white officer’s uniform.
New Zealand - Traditional Maori Women
With coats made from the feathers of the native Kiwi bird, these native New Zealand women are dressed majestically in the traditional Maori way. Although not kitted out in their full traditional outfits, which include symbolic ink facepaint, these women are wearing ceremonial dresses.
The photo was shot in the late 19th century and displays the island's rich cultural heritage. These people arrived between 1200 and 1300 AD and their lineage lives on to this day, with about 16.5% of the population known to be direct descendants.
An All-Star Lineup Fit for a Princess
Bob Geldof, Prince Charles, David Bowie, Princess Diana, and two members of the music group Queen. What could be the reason for bringing such an eclectic selection of the rich and famous to one spectator stand? And what has inspired Diana's scolding expression?
Well, the answer to the first question is easy. It’s the great 1985 Live Aid concert, the massive non-profit festival that attracts the biggest bands in the world and still occurs to this day. As for the second question, perhaps it is something unfit for a princess to hear uttered from the lips of Bowie or the guys from Queen.
Too Regal To Smile?
Queen Victoria was once the longest-reigning monarch in British history. However, despite this, very few photos of all the royals were taken during this time. In this photo, you can see Queen Vic, the Prince of Wales, and King Edward VII, as well as his son, the future King Edward VIII.
Photography had just been invented at this time and it seems that the idea of facing the camera and smiling had not caught on - at least not with these blue bloods. Just like the portraits that came before photos like this one, nobody is smiling much despite the fact that four generations of royalty are captured in this one picture.
Conrad Schumann’s Leap Of Faith
This incredibly lucky shot captures a split second in time that defined this young soldier's life. The image captures the moment when this young man cemented his decision to change sides and cross the barrier to support his previous aggressors.
This photo was taken as the Berlin Wall was being built and its subject is 19-year-old Conrad Schumann. He, heeding the wishes of the West Germans, deserted the Communist-run East Germany and fled to the Western part of the city.
The Origins Of Body-Shaming
It is hard to imagine enjoying the beach that much if you were forced to wear ridiculous bathing suits like these. Much less if creepy bespectacled men were likely to take an interest, apparently to ensure your suit was long enough.
The women in this image represent a very conservative time - a time where women were made to feel ugly in an arguably much less subtle way than we see in today’s media. This photo represents an interesting comment on the progression of body shaming.
Race for the Prize
As progressive as the late-1960s is thought to have been, there was still a great deal of progress needed in the future. This photo is clear evidence of some of the closed-minded thinking that the flower power generation was yet to overcome. Taken at the Boston Marathon in ‘67, the woman pictured is Kathrine Switzer, a young woman who decided to enter the race. However, as you can see, the race officials were clearly dismayed.
Nowadays, her entry would not surprise anyone. But at this time, women were not allowed to enter the race and Kathrine was making a brave act of feminist defiance. As you can see, the race official was quick to try and rip the young women's race number off her shirt but her boyfriend was even quicker to help subdue him.
The Isolator - Social Distancing of the ‘20s?
In today’s world of YouTube and social media, the average attention span has been depleted. But don’t worry, the 1920s have the answer. Yes, that’s right, this insane-looking mask is actually a machine to help you concentrate. But how is such an obviously distracting piece of apparel supposed to work?
Well, the designers believed that the machine, called The Isolator, would improve concentration pumping the mask full of oxygen. From the look of it, The Isolator could have been designed with present-day social distancing in mind.
We Want Beer!
It’s hard to imagine a world without alcohol, but during the prohibition era in the United States, the government was trying to do just that. Banning a drink made from decaying fruit may seem like an impossible task, but as you can imagine the bootleg alcohol sold at the time was not nearly as good as a professionally brewed beer.
As you can imagine these new laws inspired a naturally passionate backlash from beer lovers. The patriotic young men shown in this photo demonstrate our dedication to having a few cold ones after a hard day. Now that is a worthy cause nearly all of us can get behind.
Gettysburg - Finally At Peace
What agreement did these rather dapper gentlemen come to and what could make this photo so significant? Well, during the American Civil War many bridges were burnt as the two armies - the Confederate and Union - clashed in infamous battles.
This photo, taken at the scene of Gettysburg on the 50th anniversary of the bloody historical battle, records an important step forward for the United States. The gentlemen are old veterans from opposing sides finally at peace with one another.
The Origins of One of the Most Famous Women of Our Time
This image shows the very origins of one of the most well-known women ever. Although the lady’s hair is different from how it is remembered by most, that perfect smile will give the game away for many fans of her work.
That’s right the image is none-other than blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe. Take before her career had taken off - in 1944 - the image is one of the first professional photos of the young woman. Just eighteen years old at the time, Monroe (then called Norma Jeane Dougherty) was working at a munitions factory supporting the war effort when she was discovered by a photographer.
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