Civil War Photo Forensics

• Author(s): Hippensteel, Scott
• Series:
• Imprint: University of Tennessee Press
• Publication Date: 2026-04-14
• Status: Not Yet Published - Will Back Order
• Available in Hardcover - Printed Case: Price $39.95 | Buy Now
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In Civil War Photo Forensics, author Scott Hippensteel reconsiders iconic photographs from the American Civil War in a completely new light, questioning everything we have been taught about the images and their significance. Employing new scientific techniques to investigate the timing, location, and authenticity of photographs taken by Alexander Gardner, Mathew Brady, Timothy O’Sullivan, and their contemporaries, Hippensteel provides fresh insights into the motivations behind these pioneers in battlefield photography.

As the first battlefield photojournalists, these documentarians and their work deserve a critical and scientific treatment of this order. In addition to their historical value, Hippensteel’s study demonstrates that the degree of manipulation present in many of the most famous Civil War “combat” photographs should make us contemplate whether an image is more a work of art than an unbiased example of front line reporting. Complete with 128 high-quality images, Civil War Photo Forensics will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of Civil War and photography enthusiasts.

Scott Hippensteel is a professor of earth sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has published three books about the intersection between the natural and military sciences, including the award-winning Sand, Science, and the Civil War: Sedimentary Geology and Combat. His research interests focus on using microfossils to solve environmental and geoarchaeological problems, including investigating the fate of the famous Civil War submarine H. L. Hunley