Steve Helber / AP
Private Thomas W. Timberlake of Co. G, 2nd Virginia Infantry found this child's portrait on the battlefield of Port Republic, Virginia, between the bodies of a Confederate soldier and a Federal soldier.
By David R Arnott, msnbc.com
The Museum of the Confederacy is appealing for the public's help in identifying the subjects of eight photographs picked up on the battlefields of the Civil War.
The Associated Press reports that the images are being publicized in the hope that a descendant might recognize a facial resemblance or make a connection to the sites where they were found:
Museum officials can only speculate on the children and adults, including soldiers, shown in the photographs. But whether they were sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, or siblings the prospect of identifying each grows dimmer with the passage of time.
Typically they were found by another soldier and handed down through generations. Ultimately an attic would be cleared or a trunk would be emptied and the photo would be given to the museum. Some have been in the museum's possession for 60 years or more.
If you can help identify the people in the photographs, get in touch with the museum or connect with them on Facebook or Twitter.
Read more about imagery of the conflict at the Center for Civil War Photography.
Related content:
- Hundreds of Civil War photos unearthed
- 150 years on, 3-D Civil War photos unveiled
- How Civil War photography changed war
Steve Helber / AP
A group of seven Civil War battlefield photos pictured at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va., on May 25, 2012.
Steve Helber / AP
This Gem daguerreotype locket was found by a soldier in Hampton's cavalry brigade on a battlefield in 1863.
