Civil War: Massachusetts MOLLUS Photo Collection – 26,500 Images

Description

The Military Order of the Loyal Legion and the Civil War

Timeline of Main Events

• April 15, 1865: Three Union Army officers meet in Philadelphia to discuss forming an organization in response to the death of President Abraham Lincoln, to preserve the federal government from future threats.
• April 20, 1865: A mass meeting of Union Army veterans takes place in Philadelphia. They pledge allegiance to the Union and plan to participate in President Lincoln’s funeral cortege.
• After Lincoln’s Funeral (late April 1865): The three officers from the initial meeting form the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), patterned on the Society of the Cincinnati.
• Post-Civil War (1865-1880s): Colonel Arnold A. Rand and General Albert Ordway begin to build a large collection of Civil War photographs, illustrations, and negatives.
• Rand solicits photographs from veterans.
• Ordway uses his connections to obtain material from high-profile officers.
• Rand and Ordway purchase negatives from the H.T. Anthony Company (originally belonging to Mathew Brady) and over 2,000 negatives from Alexander Gardner.
• 1880s: Rand and Ordway sell their collection to John C. Taylor.
• By 1907: John C. Taylor produces stereographic prints and lantern slides from the collection for sale to the public.
• 1907: Edward B. Eaton purchases the negatives.
• Early 20th Century (post-1907): Edward B. Eaton utilizes the images in several books about the Civil War, most notably “The Photographic History of the Civil War.”
• December 1973: The Military History Institute acquires the MOLLUS photograph collection, referred to as the most important discovery of Civil War photographs of the 20th Century.
• Undisclosed Time Prior to the date of the source: Ken Burns and his staff spend six weeks at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, using the MOLLUS collection to gather illustrations for his popular PBS series on the Civil War.
• Present Day (2024): MOLLUS continues to operate, accepting descendants of Union officers as members. The collection is available digitally.

Cast of Characters

• Abraham Lincoln: President of the United States during the Civil War. His assassination spurred the initial formation of MOLLUS.
• Three Unnamed Union Army Officers: The initial founders of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS). Their names are not listed in the text.
• Colonel Arnold A. Rand: A key figure in building the MOLLUS photograph collection. He solicited images from veterans across the U.S.
• General Albert Ordway: Another key figure in building the collection. He used his connections in Washington to acquire photographs from high-profile officers.
• Mathew Brady: Famous Civil War photographer, whose negatives were later acquired by Rand and Ordway through a third party as payment of debt.
• Alexander Gardner: A prominent Civil War photographer whose negatives were bought by Rand and Ordway.
• H. T. Anthony Company: A company that was in possession of Brady’s negatives as payment of debt. Sold them to Rand and Ordway.
• John C. Taylor: Purchased the collection from Rand and Ordway in the 1880s and made stereographic prints and lantern slides from them.
• Edward B. Eaton: Purchased the negatives in 1907 and used them in several Civil War books, including “The Photographic History of the Civil War.”
• Dr. Richard J. Sommers: Senior historian at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, who commented on the significance of the MOLLUS collection.
• Ken Burns: Filmmaker who used the MOLLUS collection to create his popular PBS documentary on the Civil War.
• Other MOLLUS Members: The document lists the names of some of the high ranking Army, Navy, and Marine officers, including Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Schofield, Miles, McClellan, Hayes and Custer.

Civil War: The Massachusetts Commandery MOLLUS Photograph Collection contains 26,500 images.

This collection consists of 26,500 digitized photos from 117 volumes of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) – Massachusetts Photograph Collection.

It includes 8,532 album pages from 120 out of the 136 volumes in the MOLLUS photograph collection at the Military History Institute, featuring 19,500 photographs and 7,000 illustrations.

The collection has been referenced in many scholarly and popular works and was instrumental in the well-known Ken Burns public television series about the Civil War.

Ken Burns and his team spent six weeks at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center reviewing the MOLLUS collection to gather illustrations for his acclaimed PBS series on the Civil War. Dr. Richard J. Sommers, a senior historian at the AHEC, stated that “when the Military History Institute acquired this collection in December 1973, it represented the most significant finding of Civil War photographs in the 20th century.”

The 120 albums feature various types of photographic formats, including tin types, cyanotypes, salted paper prints, albumen, matte collodion, platinum, and silver gelatin prints.

Colonel Arnold A. Rand and General Albert Ordway were primarily responsible for developing this collection. Colonel Rand reached out to veterans across the U.S. seeking photographs of war scenes and portraits of generals, regimental leaders, staff officers, and naval personnel. General Ordway, based in Washington, had connections to influential officers, giving him access to their collections. They also acquired negatives taken during the war by Mathew Brady through the H. T. Anthony Company, which received them as payment for debts owed by Brady. Additionally, they purchased over 2,000 negatives from renowned Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner. Rand and Ordway ultimately sold their collection in the 1880s to John C. Taylor, who produced stereographic prints and lantern slides for sale. In 1907, Edward B. Eaton acquired the negatives and incorporated the images into several books about the Civil War, with The Photographic History of the Civil War being the most notable.

Regarding the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States

On April 15, 1865, three Union Army officers convened in Philadelphia as news of President Abraham Lincoln’s death spread. They contemplated establishing an organization to safeguard the federal government against future dangers. Just five days later, a large gathering of Union Army veterans in Philadelphia committed to supporting the Union and organizing their involvement in the funeral procession. Following the funeral, the three officers created an association for officers and former officers of the Civil War, modeled after the Revolutionary War officers’ group, the Society of the Cincinnati. They named this new group the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), which was organized with a National Commandery-in-Chief and various state Commanderies.

At its height, the organization’s membership reached nearly 12,000 Army, Navy, and Marine officers, including figures like Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Schofield, Miles, McClellan, Hayes, and Custer. MOLLUS remains active today, welcoming men who are descendants (great grandsons, great grandnephews) of Civil War Union officers as members.