The Civil War photographs primarily contain stereograph and cartes-de-visite series issued by the prominent Civil War photographers Mathew Brady, Barnard & Gibson, Alexander Gardner, and Levy & Cohen. The over 150 views principally depict the aftermath of Union campaigns in the South, including the fall of Richmond. Other significant series of Civil War-era photographs include images photographed by A. Watson of the Great Central Fair in Philadelphia, and interior views of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon taken by Robert Newell. Cartes-de-visite caricatures satirizing military figures, battles, the home front, camp life, the Confederacy and African Americans are also a significant portion of the Civil War photographs.
