Probably the most interesting part of the MHI Special Collections is the huge number of old photographs. I took a look at some of the photos available on the Institute’s Web site. While limited in number, they are a fascinating glimpse into our country’s history. I spent some time looking at Civil War photographs and also many from the Indian Wars and from Spanish-American War. Numerous generals are documented, as are Indian chiefs, common soldiers, and civilians. I especially liked the picture of a prospector and his mules, taken in Arizona in the 1880s. Another one that caught my eye was "The Watch on the Rhine", showing a guard on the Coblenz railroad bridge in Coblenz, Rhenish Prussia, Germany, taken on January 6, 1919. Other online pictures show pictures of the Little Big Horn battlefield taken in 1886 (the battle was fought on June 25, 1876), floods in Louisiana in 1927, daily routine of soldiers in the Korean War, and more.

While fascinating to view, the online collection of photographs represents only a small portion of the Military History Institute’s photography collection. Many thousands of pictures have not yet been scanned and placed online. Luckily, the card catalog is available online. Here you can search for photographs and find a brief description of each. If it is of interest, you can order copies of any photograph via regular mail.

The U.S. Army Military History Institute’s Photograph Database card catalog is available at: carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/PhotoDB.html. The collection of online photographs is available at:
carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/HPOL.html

My thanks to Charles Fitzgerald for letting me know about this excellent online resource.