Old Pictures: Great website.

[Vexatious Ape]

Just found this incredible website that has a collection of old photo's. If you're a history buff or interested in photography in general this site will be one of your favorites. Hint: click on "Themed Collections", it will be on your left.
http://www.old-picture.com/index.htm

Enjoy.

[zanne]

1. The "Gettysburg" collection is amazing. nt

[Vexatious Ape]

2. I spent most of my time looking through the

Civil War photo's. They have a collection of great pictures from the battle of Atlanta--where I live.

[zanne]

3. Have you personally seen all of those sites?

Someday I hope to get down there to see some of those things.

[Vexatious Ape]

4. No.

Atlanta, unlike Savannah (the most beautiful city in all of North America) pretty much built over any historical places scene in those old pictures.

[LibDemAlways]

5. Thank you for this.

My daughter frequently needs to provide a photo or illustration as part of a history paper or project. This is great.

[Vexatious Ape]

6. Your welcome.

[Bitwit1234]

7. I have been to Sharpsburg

and it is awsome....walking over that battleground. They have crosses in the ground where they know soldiers were killed. And did you also know that more battles in the Civil War were fought in the State of Virginia than any other state.

My ancestors lived near Chester Gap in Rappahannock County Virginia and you could see the battles fought near there. Can you imagine trying to plow your fields, and do your every day work and the fighting going on there. My great grandfather used to have to leave the battle, go home, plant, and then take in the crops in the harvest season. The Confederacy used to let them go on leave to make sure the harvested the crops for winter. And can you realize the women, hearing the sound of battle and wondering if there husband would indeed come home to harvest the crops. I suppose it it sort of the horror the people in Iraq go thru each day.

[Vexatious Ape]

8. Virginia is a great state for history buff's.

I'd like to spend some time there in the future--just drove through it last year, couldn't stop. It sure is beautiful.

[alfredo]

9. Thanks for the link. I've spent way too long there.

[Vexatious Ape]

10. Me too--you're welcome.

[alfredo]

15. The image on the home page today of the "Madonna" is one of

my favorite images of the depression.

[rasputin1952]

11. Being a History buff, I have to thank you for that link...

When I was younger, my Aunt Edith would take me to Antietam and Gettysburg describing things as if she had actually been there, (she was a retired teacher at that time). We made the whole trek, The Cornfield, The Sunken Road, The Lower (Burnside's) Bridge, at Antietam.

She described everything in detail, how the Federal bayonets could be seen above the corn, and how the Confederate artillery took a huge toll in that Cornfield. It changed hands at least 7 times, and the bravery was intense.

Dunker Church, which burned to the ground in the early 20th century, and was rebuilt, and the adjoining woods where the Federal forces broke through. Cannon were posted across the road, and the gunners died at their posts.

The Sunken Road where, when one looks at it today, makes one wonder why so many regiments were tossed into the fray only to be slaughtered, and when the Confederates abandoned the Road, they were cut down as they ran to the safety of the woods.

Lower Bridge, just how stupid was Burnside? Insisting that the bridge be taken and the Confederates holdin gigher ground and well dug in in rifle pits. Time was on Burnside's side, and fording the creek and falnking the Confedrates would have saved untold lives.

At that bridge, one of the photos has a small tree growing on the "Federal side", that tree is still there and has grown into a pretty good size. If only that tree could talk. The Bridge has been repaired, but one can still see pockmarks from the bullets.

Miller's Cornfield, The Cornfield is still growing corn, and occasionally bones, medalions, bullets, etc., come up from plowing or weathering.

One of the best books about Antietam/Sharpsburg is, "Landscape Turned Red". It tells much of what the privates and Sgts did that day, and leaves the "glamourous" generals in the shadows.

[Vexatious Ape]

12. "Landscape Turned Red" Thanks for the tip

I never had that much interest in Civil War history until going over it with my son not to long ago. It's still hard to imagine it happening here and how bloody it really was.

[rasputin1952]

13. It is by Stephen W. Sears and you can find it in any

library. it is one of the Classics of the CW.

"Company Aitch" is another one written from the Confederate POV.

There are so many odd things about the CW that it makes one wonder why, and hjow, it was fought. I can't picture standing in a firing line w/50 caliber bullets whizzing pzst my head, and people just falling dead in ranks...:(

So many things hinged on such small things that should never have happened. Little Round Top at Gettysburg, if the Confederates had gotten hold of that piece of land, they would have rolled up the entire left flank of the Federal line.

Reynolds being shot immediately after getting on the field at Gettysburg changed the entire coourse of the battle.

Jackson being shot, surviving the wound, but succumbing to pneumonia.

"Fighting Joe" Hooker, going coward after a cannonball landed realtively closely to his HQ.

the worstt hing that happened though was the assassination of Lincoln. Reconstruction would have been vastly different if Lincoln would have survived to make it happen. Which brings to mind another book, softcover and an easy read, "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" by jim Bishop. It was written in the 50s, but it follows the entire day, what each of the main characters were doing that day, and how Stanton became literally a dictator for 8 hours until Lincoln finally died and Johnson was sworn in. The mistakes that were made that day and into the the night were incredible, and it is hard to fathom how many idiotic things took place after Lincoln was shot. It took hours to seal off the city, because no one gave orders to close off the bridges!

[Vexatious Ape]

14. Thanks for the book tips.

I'll definitely check out "The Day Lincoln Was Shot".