Though our research rooms remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Archives staff have been diligently working from home to make records more accessible to the public. In this vein, Still Picture staff have been converting finding aids into online catalog descriptions. Making descriptions searchable via the catalog will ultimately help researchers locate and … Continue reading An Update on Still Picture Catalog Additions
The Cartographic Branch holds thousands of drawings, plans, and maps relating to forts, fortifications, and other military structures. These can be found in a variety of record groups and series, including RG 77 Fortification Map File (NAID 305749), RG 77 Miscellaneous Forts File (NAID 305806), RG 92 Post and Reservation Maps (NAID 305818), RG 92 … Continue reading Civil War Defenses of Washington Fort Plans Now Available Online
If you are not familiar with the name Dorothea Lange, at the very least you may recognize Lange's iconic photograph "Migrant Mother." Throughout the 1920s, Dorothea Lange worked as a studio portrait photographer in San Francisco. However, by the height of the Great Depression, she turned her focus towards documenting people and her surroundings. As … Continue reading Spotlight: Dorothea Lange
Many of us are familiar with the famed photographer, Mathew Brady, who captured a million photographs during the American Civil War. From the battlefield to portraits, his photographs captured some of the most grueling and unforgettable times of the war. They were the inspiration of Ken Burns' famed documentary series The Civil War (1990). Many … Continue reading Unnoticed: African Americans in Union Army Camps during the Civil War
The Cartographic Branch is digitizing the Record Group 77, War Department Map Collection (NAID 305808), which consists of maps of both the United States and foreign areas. At this time, only the maps relating to the United States have been digitized, although we hope to digitized the foreign maps in the future. The United States … Continue reading Highlights from the War Department Map Collection
Lighting the way for centuries, lighthouses continue to serve as a navigational aid for sailors at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses warn mariners of hazards such as reefs and rocks, guide ships to safe harbors, and help sailors establish their position. The Cartographic branch of the National Archives holds numerous drawings and maps of … Continue reading Lighting the Way: RG 26 Lighthouse Plans & Maps Now Digitized
As you may know, the Cartographic Branch holds many maps relating to Civil War battles and sites. However, what you may not know is that many of these maps are available to view anytime and anywhere through the National Archives Online Catalog. Today we're featuring maps showing the Shiloh Battlefield. All of the maps featured … Continue reading Mapping the Battle of Shiloh
We are very excited to announce that all of the maps in the US File Unit RG 77: Civil Works Map File have now been digitized and are available online for viewing and download! These images can be found by searching the National Archives Catalog, NAID #7491452. The records in this series comprised the main … Continue reading Now Available Online: RG 77, Civil Works Map Files, US File Unit!
The Cartographic Branch holds aerial imagery covering much of the United States and also many areas around the world. Today's post will focus on getting started with aerial imagery covering the United States, and specifically, Record Group (RG) 145 imagery. For more information on locating foreign aerial photography, see our previous posts: Researching Foreign Aerial … Continue reading Researching Aerial Photography of the United States : RG 145 Aerial Indexes Now Digitized
Chances are that if you stop by the Cartographic Research Room on any given day, at least one person will be working with aerial photography. It's easily the most commonly requested record type in our research room and one of the most common offsite reference requests that we receive. The Cartographic Branch holds over 29 … Continue reading Researching Foreign Aerial Photography
