Young Faces Of The American Civil War

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Somehow we expect their faces to be different, not so staggeringly modern looking. Place them in contemporary clothing and all of these young men would not look out of place in a mall or a high school yearbook. Yet these extraordinary ambrotype and tintype photographs were taken during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Almost 150 years separates their lives from our own yet their youthful faces retain a powerful resonance and an immediacy which brings that dreadful conflict in to our imagination. In remembrance of the soldiers who served in the American Civil War, the Liljenquist Family recently donated their rare collection of almost 700 photographs to the Library of Congress.