Rare Civil War Photographs Converted Into Film-Like Animations

Collection of photographic sequences taken in quick succession with a four-lens stereoscopic camera in which a time of possibly a few seconds elapsed between when the images on the glass negative plate were exposed. A primitive film emerges when they are animated as seen in these videos. They were probably all taken by a photographer employed by Mathew Brady during the Civil War.

Confederate POWs at Belle Plain, Virginia, 1864

Confederate prisoners in the "Punch Bowl," a temporary Union prison camp at Belle Plain, Virginia, May 16/17, 1864. According to Civil War historian William Frassanito, one of the men is wearing a hat bearing insignia of the 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment.

Union Soldiers in a United States Sanitary Commission Camp

Union soldiers and others in civilian dress in a Sanitary Commission Camp during the Civil War. The civilians are probably Sanitary Commission workers.

Pedestrian and Carriage Traffic in Front of the Marshall House in Alexandria, Virginia, 1861

View of pedestrian and carriage traffic in front of the Marshall House (large building in foreground on right) in Alexandria, Virginia, during the Civil War. Taken in 1861 according to the Library of Congress.

The Marshall House came to prominence because it was where Union Colonel Elmer Ellsworth was shot and killed while taking down a large Confederate flag flying from the building on May 24, 1861. His shooter, secessionist owner of the hotel James W. Jackson, was promptly killed by Union soldiers accompanying Ellsworth. Ellsworth was the first officer to die during the Civil War.

Men Posing With the Ruins of a House

A group of unidentified men posing in the ruins of a house and in front of a tent at an unknown location during the Civil War.