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Nicholson (John Page) Collection: Photographs (Forty-four) Illustrating General Sherman's Campaigns in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, 1864: from the negatives in the possession of the War Department, U.S.A., 1877
photCL 309  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • General
  • Related Materials
  • General
  • Custodial History

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library Photo Archives
    Title: Photographs (forty-four) illustrating General Sherman's campaigns in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, 1864: from the negatives in the possession of the War Department, U.S.A., 1877
    Identifier/Call Number: photCL 309
    Physical Description: 1 Volume (39 photographs in 1 disbound album)
    Date: 1864; prints made 1877
    Abstract: An album of 39 albumen photographs of the aftermath of Civil War battles in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, 1864.
    Material Specific Details: Title transcribed from item. Though the title states 44, this album was received with only 39 photographs.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. photCL 309, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from Gertrude M. Nicholson, through the agency of Robert O. Schad, September 1922.

    Biographical / Historical

    John Page Nicholson (1842-1921) was a Civil War veteran and collector. From 1861 to 1865, he served as regimental quartermaster with the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry regiment. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia and started collecting Civil War books, manuscripts, and photographs. He also translated and edited two volumes of Comte de Paris' History of the Civil War in America. From 1885 to 1922, he served as recorder in chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and was Secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Gettysburg Monument.

    Scope and Contents

    An album of 39 photographs taken in 1864, documenting locations of Civil War battles and various scenes of destruction in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Views include battlefields; ruins of buildings, particularly in Atlanta; foxholes and trenches; hills; roads; bridges; and farms. Union soldiers appear in several of the photographs, some holding guns or standing at lookouts. The album, now disbound, has a hand-inked title page and the first leaf is signed "John P. Nicholson, 9-24-1879." The spine of the original binding reads: "Sherman's March - Photographs." Though uncredited, the photographs were made by George N. Barnard, a U.S. army photographer based in Tennessee. This set of albumen prints was made from the original glass negatives in 1877. The prints are approximately 11 x 14 1/2 inches, and are mounted on boards, with hand-lettered titles below. See finding aid for full list of titles.

    Processing Information

    Album was disbound and rehoused by Conservation Department in 1995. In 2021, Suzanne Oatey created a finding aid derived from a collection file.

    General

    Many of these photographs were published in "Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign: from negatives taken in the field by Geo. N. Barnard, official photographer of the military div. of the Mississippi ... " (1866).

    Related Materials

    John Page Nicholson papers and Civil War collection, mssNI 1-990. Additional volumes of photographs from the Nicholson collection: photCL 302, photCL 303, photCL 304, photCL 305, photCL 306, photCL 307, photCL 308.

    General

    Former call number: RB 70524.

    Custodial History

    This album was received as part of the Nicholson collection of papers, manuscripts and books related to the Civil War.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Atlanta Campaign, 1864
    Sherman's March to the Sea
    Soldiers -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    Alabama -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    Georgia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Battlefields
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns
    Photographs
    Photograph albums
    Nicholson, John P. (John Page), 1842- -- former owner
    Barnard, George N., 1819-1902