I recently gave a short presentation at an Apex genealogy group. The focus was on tools and techniques for uncovering details about ancestors who fought in the Civil War.

I've spent some time researching this. My research has not been to justify the cause of those serving on the southern side or to defend all those statues of secession leaders (far from it; I've written about that before here -- What do we think about ancestors who fought on the wrong side?). Instead, my point in doing this research is to understand a) what happened and b) the context in which ancestors lived.

I recently finished Erik Larson’s awesome The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War - https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Unrest-Hubris-Heartbreak-Heroism/dp/0385348746. It's clear from the historical record that however modern deniers might like to spin it, the war was driven by the resistance of the southern planter aristocracy to efforts to limit and eliminate slavery. Yes, it was a different world; the Constitution was less than 80 years old, and thus, the connection to the "United States" was often more tenuous than the connection to one's state. But the war would not have occurred save for slavery. The planter aristocracy interests were transfigured for mass consumption into asserting that the war was a battle about state vs. federal sovereignty -- especially among southerners who did not enslave people -- but at the core, it was all about slavery.

But that's not the point of this post. I want to spend more time on Erik's book in a future post; it's that good. It is relevant to our current confused country teetering on the edge of dysfunction. Instead, I want to discuss the tricky business of photographs and historical documentation.

Attached is a picture I used in my Apex presentation. Mary Glenn's great-grandfather -- Caleb Sowers -- is on the lower left, holding a snare drum.

One of the attendees asked me about the source of the picture because it's so clear, and the image quality is so good. Which was a darn good question.

I was 100% sure the picture had originated with my mother-in-law at some point. I looked at the metadata on the image first. I noticed that it had been "taken" by an Olympus E-500 camera, at f-stop 5.4 at 1/80 shutter speed, with ISO100 "film" on September 2, 2007, at 1:55 in the afternoon. That makes sense because, at best, my cell phone would have taken pictures at a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, so I likely would have used my digital SLR to take a picture of the image.

So what next? I decided to try a Google reverse image search and a Google Lens search. That generated a series of images similar to mine -- and a variety of images for sale -- but no hits.

Enter artificial intelligence.

I tried uploading the image to 4 different AI engines with this query, "What can you tell me about the origins of this picture?" Here are the results:

claude.ai

The image appears to be an old, sepia-toned photograph, likely taken in the late 19th or early 20th century based on the style of clothing and photographic quality. It shows a large group of men, many of them elderly, gathered on what looks like the steps of a building, possibly a courthouse or government building.
Several aspects suggest this photo might depict a reunion or gathering of Civil War veterans:
1. Time period: The clothing styles, hats, and beards are typical of the late 1800s to early 1900s, which would align with the aging of Civil War veterans.
2. Age of subjects: Many of the men appear quite elderly, which fits the timeline of Civil War veterans in their later years.
3. Medals and ribbons: Several men in the front rows are wearing what appear to be military medals or ribbons on their lapels, suggesting service in a conflict like the Civil War.
4. Musical instruments: Some men in the front are holding drums, which were crucial in military communication and morale during the Civil War.
5. Group composition: Large gatherings of older men like this were common for Civil War reunions, where veterans from both sides would come together to commemorate their experiences.
The setting and formal nature of the photograph suggest it was a significant event, possibly a reunion, memorial, or a gathering related to local or state government. Such photos were often taken to document these important occasions for historical records.
While I can't confirm the exact origins without more information, the visual elements strongly suggest this is a photograph of Civil War veterans, likely taken several decades after the war ended.

Microsoft Copilot

The image you provided appears to be a sepia-toned photograph from an early 20th-century era. In the photo, a group of individuals stands on steps, dressed in formal attire—suits and hats. Three people in the foreground hold drums, suggesting they might be part of a band or musical ensemble. The pixelation over some faces indicates privacy protection or digital alteration. Unfortunately, I don’t have specific information about its origins, but it captures a historical moment from a social gathering or event involving music. 📸🎶 [including the nifty emojis]

ChatGPT

The image appears to be a historical photograph of a group of men, likely veterans, gathered on the steps of a building. The photograph is in sepia tone, indicating it might be from the late 19th or early 20th century. Many of the men are wearing uniforms and medals, suggesting they could be from a military reunion or a veterans' gathering. Some are holding drums and other instruments, hinting at a possible ceremonial or commemorative event.
Given the attire and the setting, it is possible that these men are Confederate veterans from the American Civil War. The uniforms, medals, and facial hair styles are consistent with those seen in the post-Civil War era. The gathering could be an event organized by a veterans' association such as the United Confederate Veterans (UCV), which held regular reunions for its members.

Google Gemini

Sorry, I can't help with images of people yet. [Well, at least that’s honest.]

These query responses point to an AI vulnerability, a recency bias. Because there is more "new" information than "old" information, recency bias causes AI systems to prioritize recent information when drawing conclusions. But that's fodder for another post.

Hmmm…dead end.

Maybe not.

From past family history research, I knew that Caleb had been active in Civil War reunions- his unit was in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, and he attended the 50th "anniversary" event in 1913 in Gettysburg. There were newspaper articles about many of these reunions. Caleb often seemed prominent in the coverage because he returned with his drum, which had apparently been captured at First Manassas (another story). So I started rummaging on newspapers.com -- it's a good thing I am "somewhat" retired because these journeys down history ratholes are somewhat time-consuming.

I came across the attached article from July 5, 1949, which notes that a picture had been posted four days earlier of an unidentified "group of Confederate veterans on the steps of the Roanoke Elks Club" and that the article "has resulted in the identification of some of the old timers," including Caleb. Based on the date of someone known to be in the picture, the article speculated that the photo was taken between 1904 and 1909.

I then returned to the paper's July 1, 1949 issue, and lo and behold -- although horribly microfilmed -- is the picture. I also confirmed from some other old photos that my image was indeed taken on the steps of the Elks Club in Roanoke, which was demolished in 1973 (but which Mary Glenn remembers).

My mother-in-law was a BIG newspaper clipper; we found many articles on various topics when we cleared out her house. Undoubtedly, what happened was that she clipped the original photo in 1949, and it sat in a box or a bag until 2007 when I ran across it and took a picture of it. No telling what became of the original newspaper article. I've tried to find it in several additional searches, but I've taken this as far as possible.

And that's as far as I can get. Time to do some work for which I actually get paid.

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Five previous posts in the series, which started as a New Year’s resolution.