Last updated on December 29th, 2022 at 12:10 am

The American Civil War was one of the first conflicts to be extensively photographed. By that point, camera technology had reached the point where it could capture high-quality photographs.

Photographers like Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and George S. Cook detailed this historical conflict.

You’ve probably seen some of their work in black and white.

But have you ever seen photographs of the American Civil War in color? The contrast between the black and white photos we are used to seeing and these brightly-colored images are startling. 

Only within the past few decades did technology allow for such accurate colorization. Thanks to dedicated hobbyists, we can now see this history chapter through a new lens.

So take a look at some of these stunningly restored photographs—you may be surprised at what you find.

Ulysses S. Grant, 1864

Here he is as Lieutenant General and Commander of the Union Armies during the Battle of Cold Harbor, 1864.

The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought over the same ground as the Battle of Gaines’s Mill in central Virginia during the Seven Days Battles of 1862.

1st Massachusetts Cavalry, 1864

Captain Charles Francis Adams Jr. with officers of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, including Captain Charles Francis Adams Jr.

Charles Francis Adams Jr. was an American author, historian, and a relative of John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

After the war, he became a railway regulator along with other government jobs in places like the Park Commission.