1859 | Illustration
July 16, 1859 | Illustration
This image from the July 16, 1859 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a scene on the morning after a terrible train accident on the Michigan Southern Railroad.
September 10, 1859 | Illustration
This image from the September 10, 1859 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a portion of the Illinois Central railroad depot at Chicago, Illinois. It illustrated an article entitled "The Great Graneries of Chicago," where it was noted "each of these immense buildings is capable of containing 700,000 bushels of wheat, and 225,000 can be received and stored in each of them in a single day."
September 10, 1859 | Illustration
This montage of images from the September 10, 1859 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts the city of Chicago, Illinois.
September 10, 1859 | Illustration
This image from the September 10, 1859 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a man dressed for a morning on the town.
October 9, 1859 | Illustration
This image from the October 9, 1859 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a farewell exchange between a man and woman.
March 3, 1860 | Illustration
This image from the March 3, 1860 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts soldiers from the New York state militia on their way to Washington, D.C. to attend the inauguration of a statue of George Washingon.
April 7, 1860 | Illustration
This image from the April 7, 1860 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a railroad bridge at Nashville, Tennessee.
August 11, 1860 | Illustration
This image from the August 11, 1860 issue of Harper's Weekly offers a cartoonist's rendering of the misleading term "AfterDonkey Engine."
August 25, 1860 | Illustration
This image from the August 25, 1860 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts the Victoria Tubular Bridge at Montreal, Canada.
September 1, 1860 | Illustration
This image from the September 1, 1860 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts celebratory fireworks following the completion of the Victoria Tubular Bridge in Montreal, Canada.
May 11, 1861 | Illustration
This image from the May 11, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts members of the Seventh Regiment aboard the steamship "Boston," en route to Annapolis, Maryland.
May 11, 1861 | Illustration
This image from the May 11, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts members of the Eigth Massachusetts Regiment repairing bridges on the railroad from Annapolis, Maryland to Washington, D.C.
May 18, 1861 | Illustration
This image from the May 18, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts Rhode Island artillery being unloaded from the steamship "Bienville" at the Washington, D.C. arsenal.
May 18, 1861 | Illustration
This image from the May 18, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts the "Lady Davis" steamship, a warship of the Confederate States of America.
July 6, 1861 | Illustration
This image from the July 6, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts the destruction of the Potomac railroad bridge near Harper's Ferry by Confederate troops.
July 6, 1861 | Illustration
This image from the July 6, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts Harper's Ferry after its evacuation by Confederate troops.
October 12, 1861 | Illustration
This image from the October 12, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a railway accident on the Ohio and Mississippi railroad.
1862 | Illustration
The U.S. Military Railroads rebuilt the South?s railroads in the closing months of the war. African American railroad workers cut timber, broke rock, and hauled gravel for the grading. Their experience on the railroads as trackmen and laborers, as well as firemen and brakemen, continued after the war. In 1880 over 50 percent of all railroad workers in Virginia were black; in Pennsylvania, by contrast, railroad workers were almost uniformly white.
1862 | Illustration
When guerrillas attacked Union forces, the northern public was outraged. Confederate guerrillas and partisan rangers attacked the railroad and telegraph systems, opening up the war to civilians and exposing the remorseless nature of the national conflict. Their activities played a central role in the war.