Gettysburg Battle Photos

Those Gettysburg battle photos taken by Civil War photographers on the scene after the actual battle are so old that they are now public domain.

That means that the copyright has expired and the Gettysburg pictures may be freely distributed.

They are a primary source for historical information since they are first-hand accounts from the Civil War era.

If you are writing a research paper or preparing a presentation on the Civil War, you should try to use some primary sources.

Below I describe how to find these old photos and how to cite your sources properly.

If you modify Gettysburg photographs with cropping or editing (or just want to add text to advertise your website!) you can add to it or change it so that it becomes your own creation.

If you would like to research copies of these Battle of Gettysburg pictures for yourself without my labels, you can find them in the National Archives and Library of Congress online collections.

How to Use the National Archives

Go to the National Archives website to find Gettysburg battle photos. Click on the “Civil War Era” button. A new pop-up window will open. Next do a refine search with the term “Gettysburg” and check the box so that only results with a digital format are displayed. This search delivers many images and documents.

How to Use the Library of Congress

Go to the Library of Congress’ American Memory online collection. Type in the search term “Gettysburg” and click the “Search” button. You can refine your results by listing more search terms.

Document Your Sources on Your Works Cited Page

If you are using these Civil War pictures for a report, you will need to list the sources on your Works Cited page. This is the basic format suggested by the National Archives:

Record Item Title; File Unit; Series; Records of Subgroup; Record Group Number; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online version on month date, year, available through the online catalog at http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/].

I suggest that you try the National Archives first when doing research on Gettysburg photos, because their search database is much easier to use.