Great American Posters .com

Classic Works of American Illustration

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Lithography and the Civil War

When the Gulf War got underway in 1990, Americans turned to CNN on cable TV to follow what was happening almost in "real time." during World War II, Americans were glued to their radios for daily reports form the field. During the Civil War, American were no less hungry to know what was happening. Before the advent of radio and TV, there was print. Periodicals like Harpers delivered the news. Very talented and brave artists were in the camps and on the front lines making pen and ink sketches of what they saw. Those sketches traveled on horseback by couriers to New York where artists in the employ of the periodicals translated the sketches into black and white lithographs that could be printed. Then came the full-color lithographs. Currier and Ives cranked out color prints as fast as they could. Theirs were the least detailed and artistic with cookie cutter soldiers. A couple of decades after the war lithographers produced much higher quality prints.

About our watermark on the images: Each of the images in this collection has been painstakingly restored, some taking as much as several hours of work. Visitors are welcome to use these images by grabbing them from this site, but we want their audience to know the source. The print you purchase will not have a watermark.
Prints of these images are available in various sizes and formats.
Battle of Chattanooga

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CW-153 The Battle of Chattanooga
Litho by L. Prang. Painting by Thulstrup.
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CW-125 Kearsarce and Alabama
Litho by L. Prang. Painting by Thulstrup.
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CW-112 Battle of Spottsylvania
Litho by L. Prang. Painting by Thulstrup.
Spotsylvania (spelled now with one "t") also known as Spotsylvania Courthouse District is about halfway between Washington, DC and Richmond, VA. It was there in May of 1864, days after a bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness that Union forces led by Grant attacked General Lee's forces that were entrenched in defensive positions. It was a victory for Lee because he held off the attack, and for Grant because he had inflicted major losses on the South. In all, over 31,000 Americans died in 13 days of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
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CW-155 Battle of Kensaw Mountain
Litho by L. Prang. Painting by Thulstrup.
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CW-116 General Grant
 Litho by L. Prang. Painting by Thulstrup.
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