Illustrating the Civil War

Jennifer recently visited the Library Company to look at some of our printed material, including Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. Leslie’s was a heavily illustrated American literary and news serial founded in 1855. It portrayed the week’s events with large, striking, and sometimes sensational depictions. Circulation rose with coverage of events such as the shocking murder of New York dentist Harvey Burdell in 1857; John Brown’s raid, trial, and execution; and the 1860 Heenan-Sayers boxing match—the total fight edition sold 347,000 copies! But Leslie’s, along with competing illustrated papers like Harper’s Weekly and the New York Illustrated News, reached its peak during the Civil War. These publications brought images of the war into Americans’ homes. Leslie’s had as many as twelve correspondents at a time covering the war and more than eighty artists providing some 3,000 scenes of battles and military life.