Colorado

This drawing of the USS Colorado was created by artist Alfred R. Waud. The catalog record at the Library of Congress describes the image as a “Broadside view of ship, outline of port in background.” Click here or on the image to view the catalog record and a larger image.

For more information about the vessel, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command. Here’s an excerpt from that page:

“USS Colorado (1856-1885), a steam screw frigate, was launched 19 June 1856 by Norfolk Navy Yard; sponsored by Miss N. S. Dornin; and commissioned 13 March 1858, Captain W. H. Gardner in command.
“USS Colorado (1856-1885) sailed from Portsmouth, N.H., 9 December 1862 to rejoin the blockading force off Mobile, Ala., 13 March 1863. Returning to Portsmouth Navy Yard 4 February 1864, she was again placed out of commission from 18 February to 1 September 1864. From 3 February to 25 May 1865 USS Colorado (1856-1885) was again out of commission at New York Navy Yard. Ordered to the European Squadron as flagship, she sailed 16 June and cruised off England, Portugal, and Spain, and in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas until she departed Cherbourg 23 July 1867 for New York where she was placed in ordinary from 7 September 1867 to 15 February 1870.”

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[Winter Picket Duty]

This drawing was created by Alfred R. Waud during 1861-1865. Written on the bottom of the illustration is “Snow dark against distant sky, quite dark in shadow on evergreen. very hazy and colorless distance.” The original drawing is held by the Library of Congress. Click here or on the image above to view the catalog record available on the Library’s website.

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“The Whitewasher”

City Characters, or, Familiar Scenes in Town published in 1851 included illustrations and descriptions of  individuals that were likely to be seen in an American city such as “The Fruitseller,” “The Retired Gentleman,” “The Huckster,” and “The Street Sweeper.” In the chapter “The Whitewasher” the author describes how whitewash is used as an inexpensive way to cover grime and dirt on walls, ceilings, and fences:

“It is made of lime and water, mixed together with a little bit of salt and indigo to make it clear. Brushes with long handles on them dipped into it, and rubbed over the walls of the room; when this dries, all the yellow is covered, and the room looks white and clean.”

The original engravings are in the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia.

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“Norfolk, 1864”

“Felix Darley made this 1864 sheet of signed pencil sketches of African Americans in Norfolk, Virginia, during the Civil War. The city was held by the Union Army from 1862 and became a haven for thousands of escaped slaves.”
Not currently on view, this item is held by the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History. The description above was taken from the museum’s catalog record.

“Norfolk, 1862,” Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History accessed August 23, 2021

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“The sutler’s tent in camp/E.F.”

The Library of Congress catalog record for this 1863 pencil drawing by Edwin Forbes includes this note “”Sutler’s tent, near Stoneman’s Switch, Falmouth, Va.”

Here’s an excerpt from Claire Prechtel-Kluskens’s article “Sutlers of the Civil War,” NGS Magazine, April-June 2014, p. 39

“Civil War sutlers were the 19th century equivalent of the modoern US Army’s post exchaned (PX) or commissary. Soldiers in the field patronized these traeveling storekeepers to purchase needed goods and desired luxuries that were not provided by the US government.

“If your ancestor was a sutler, there are records and publications that may provide insight on his activities and store inventory. Even if your ancestor wasn’t a sutler, knowing more about his regimental sutler (or sutlers in general) will broaden your understanding of your Civil War soldiers’ experiences by learning about what items soldiers purchased to enhance their every day lives in the field.”

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