One of them would make war rather than let the nation survive. And the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came..."

          Abraham Lincoln
          Inaugural Address, 1864


Any understanding of this nation has to be based, and I mean really based, on an understanding of the Civil War. I believe that firmly. It defined us. The Revolution did what it did. Our involvement with the European wars, beginning with the First World War, did what it did. But the Civil War defined us, what we are, and it opened to us what we became, good and bad things.

And it is very necessary, if you are going to understand the American character in the 20th century, to learn about this enormous catastrophe of the 19th century. It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads".

          Shelby Foote
          Historian

Full-length Portraits of Political, Naval, and Military Heroes (Listed in Alphabetical Order)	Historic Depictions of Battle Scenes by Sea and Land (Listed in Chronological Order)

It was the greatest war in American history. 3 million fought, 600,000 died. It was the only war fought on American soil by Americans and, for that reason, we remain fascinated by the Civil War.

The beautiful and compelling images offered here were selected from the three-volume edition of Evert A. Duyckinck's National History of the War for the Union.

Johnson, Fry and Company published this contemporaneous account of the War's epic struggle, and Alonzo Chappel and Thomas Nast illustrated it with highly finished steel engravings from their original paintings.

Any selection from this historic anthology of Civil War images would be a handsome addition for the authentic enthusiast and collector.