NARA Collection lc — Collection lc

Original caption: This beautiful little lake is on the celebrated Lookout Mountain. It is a charming spot. A story is told illustrating the well-known tendency of Southern people to tell how grand everything was in the South "befoh the wah." One evening since the war, a Northern party were sitting on the bunks of this little lake, admiring the perfect loveliness of the scene. One of the Northern gentlemen said that the reflection of the moon's rays from the mirror-like surface of the lake was simply perfect, that nothing could be more lovely. A Southern lady after listening to their many praises of the wonderful beauty of the moon reflected from the lake, sighed sadly as she replied, "ah! yes, it's very pretty, but you ought to have seen it 'before the war.'"

Original caption: This view gives a glimpse of the bomb-proofs in which our soldiers tried to live, during the long siege at Petersburg, 1864–1865; the camp-fire and the coffee-kettle look as familiar as in those days of yore.

Original caption: Early in the war the soldiers were much more comfortably sheltered than they were as the war progressed. This view shows a Sibley tent mess; these "Sibley" tents were nice large tents, and could comfortably hold from ten to fifteen men. When the Army moved up the Penninsula (from camp Winfield Scott, before Yorktown,) early in the Spring of 1862, we bade farewell to our comfortable large tents, and thereafter each soldier carried his house on his back. From the Spring of 1862 till the end of the war we lived in "dog tents" or shelter (?) tents as the government miscalled them.

Original caption: This view was taken at Bealton, Va., in August, 1863, and if any of the members of this Company are now living they will doubtless appreciate the scene.

Original caption: A group of Union dead on the right of the Federal lines on the first days' fight, July 1, 1863. These soldiers were killed by one discharge of "cannister" from a Rebel . gun during a charge. Cannister is a tin can filled with small calls about the size of a marble. When the cannon is fired the force of the discharge bursts open the can, and the shower of cannister balls sweeps everything before it.

Original caption: This is a monument erected by the Veterans of Hazen's Brigade in memory of their comrades who fell here in the battle of Stone River. The inscription on this side of the monument reads: "The Veterans of Shiloh have left a deathless heritage of fame on the field of Stone River" Then follows the names of those who were killed, with dates, &c. This view will be much prized by the comrades of that army.

Original caption: This is the "Potter House" on the Rebel lines near Atlanta. The sharpshooters of the enemy posted themselves in the upper rooms and on the roof of this house overlooking the Union lines, and thus greatly annoying our troops and killing many of our men, during the battle of July 22, 1864. Finally a battery of light artillery was brought up, and quickly made the house untenable for sharpshooters or anyone else.

Original caption: There were many reasons why we did not go to Richmond as soon as we expected to. This is one of the reasons; there were lots of just such reasons as this all along up the James River. This is one of the many guns which the Rebels had in Fort Darling, which commanded the river approaches for a long distance. The Rebels used to shout across to our pickets, that before we could get to Richmond we had a LONGSTREET to travel, a big; HILL to climb, and a STONEWALL to get over; but we "got there just the same."

Original caption: This view will remind every soldier of the old times. Who has not been in the trenches? The earthwork, the pieces of shelter tent and boughs of trees stretched over to break the rays of the burning sun, the boys in the trench watching and waiting; the outlook across the little valley to the enemy's lines. It is like living the past over again to study this view.

Original caption: This view, taken in connection with number 883, form a very good Panoramic View of the "burnt district" in Richmond in 1865. These two views are from the old Arsenal looking down the James River.