Collage of historical images and cartoons of the American Civil War

Visual Culture of the American Civil WarA Special Feature of Picturing US History

"Brilliant charge of United States Cavalry through the village of Fairfax Court House, on May 31, 1861."

Early in the war, the artists working for the illustrated newspapers often drew highly romantic pictures of the fighting. Such feats as the cavalrymen in this <em>Harper's Weekly</em> engraving firing from the saddle were viewed with great amusement by soldiers in the field. The pictorial papers were popular among soldiers, who enjoyed seeing illustratrions of their exploits almost as much as they enjoyed criticizing the pictures' inaccuracies.Early in the war, the artists working for the illustrated newspapers often drew highly romantic pictures of the fighting. Such feats as the cavalrymen in this Harper's Weekly engraving firing from the saddle were viewed with great amusement by soldiers in the field. The pictorial papers were popular among soldiers, who enjoyed seeing illustratrions of their exploits almost as much as they enjoyed criticizing the pictures' inaccuracies.

Source: American Social History Project

Publisher: Harper's Weekly

Date: June 15, 1861