University of Arkansas Press, 1997

This attractive and well-designed photographic history fulfills in admirable fashion Richard McCaslin’s objective: “to present a carefully selected array of images that convey the experience of many citizens of the North State” during the Civil War. A major strength of McCaslin’s volume is the narrative account of North Carolina during the war, which places the photographs firmly in context. He also provides a useful history of early photography in the state and describes the contemporary process for making photographic images. His explanation of the different types of prints and the technical problems and artistic qualities associated with each also will be of special interest to readers, as will his inclusion of photographs of Union soldiers, freedpeople, Black soldiers, and an array of obscure and well-known figures. McCaslin provides the reader with illuminating biographical sketches and an appendix that outlines the postwar lives of those who survived the conflict. A few errors and questionable interpretations have crept into McCaslin’s text, but he nonetheless manages to provide an important photographic documentary of the Civil War.