Bloodstains and Bullet Holes: Rare Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler

1 minute read

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Civil War, TIME sent photographer Henry Leutwyler to The National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pa. to photograph 185 artifacts, from powder horns to playing cards, held in the museum’s collection and curated by Brett Kelley.

The Swiss-born Leutwyler has a talent for making the inanimate feel strangely intimate. His just released book Neverland Lost: A Portrait of Michael Jackson, catalogues the pop icon’s belongings in meticulous detail— including everything from the wear on Jackson’s rhinestone dance shoes to the make-up on his shirt collar.

“An object tells about who owns it,” says Leutwyler. “Take off your watch and look at the back of it. Look at the wear and tear. Look inside the leather strap. It shows if you are right handed or left handed.”

The idea to document pop culture through objects came to Leutwyler seven years ago, when he realized that all of the people he wanted to photograph, such as Andy Warhol and John Lennon, were already dead—but their belongings remained. “I would love to photograph Alfred Hitchcock’s belt,” he says. “The story of his weight loss and gain would be there. Even if he were still alive I would find that more interesting. How many more pictures of him can you look at?”

Leutwyler credits three great influences on his work: Weegee, the American crime scene photographer; fashion and music photographer Art Kane, who once said a good picture was the result of serious research; and photojournalist Robert Capa, who famously declared “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”

Leutwyler says he didn’t know much about American history before he shot the Civil War artifacts but was still deeply moved by them. One item, a slave collar, he found particularly disquieting. “It makes you realize that we are just animals,” he says.

Military coats, carefully restored by the museum, brought home the savage nature of the war. “The linings all torn,” Leutwyler points out. “[There are] bloodstains and bullet holes.” When he looked at them, Leutwyler imagined the pain of close combat and the courage it must have taken to fight. “This was people two feet away from each other, slashing at someone until they were dead,” he says.

Leutwyler hopes that when people look at the objects, which includes General Stonewall Jackson’s glove, they may stop and ponder war’s futility.

—Interview by Deirdre van Dyk

See TIME’s commemorative hardcover book The Civil War: An Illustrated History.

See the unabridged electronic version of TIME’s cover story, “Why They Fought,” available exclusively on Amazon.com as a Kindle Single.

Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Two powder horns, one Confederate belonging to John Clark, Company G, 7th Florida Infantry and one Union belonging to J. Berry, Company E, 7th Pennsylvania Infantry.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Porcelain marbles excavated in Savannah, GA.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A brass slave collar with key circa 1850, made by W.J.H. Scott Company in Albany, GA.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Wooden slave shoe made of cypress, circa 1840’s from the estate of Mrs. E.T. Thurman of New Orleans.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A blue kepi cap worn by a U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant and a gray kepi cap worn by a Confederate C.S. Infantry Captain.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Six musket balls retrieved from the James River in Virginia.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A deck of Union playing cards.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A U.S. Signal Corps Cipher Disk, developed by Albert J. Myer, Chief Signal Officer of The Army of the Potomac and was used to decode messages sent via signal flags during the Gettysburg Campaign. Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A Savage revolver, one of 20,000 manufactured during the Civil War with the vast majority used by Union soldiers and a LeMat revolver, developed by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, LA. and used by the Confederates.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A cased surgical instrument kit, manufactured by George Tiemann of Philadelphia who was a major supplier of surgical instruments to Union forces during the civil war. Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A medicine kit that belonged to Assistant Surgeon John B. Crawford of the 41st Pennsylvania Infantry (12th Reserves), later Surgeon of the 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Surgeon Crawford’s Letters and artifacts were donated to The National Civil War Museum by his Great Grandson.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A Ketchum hand grenade patented on August 20, 1861 by William F. Ketchum and used in battles at Vicksburg and Petersburg.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
An Ames model 1852 Naval Officer’s Sword, which belonged to Assistant Engineer John. M. Whittemore who was killed on board the U.S.S. Mohican November 2, 1861, when his ship was hit by enemy fire during the bombardment of Hilton Head in South Carolina.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A musket ball lodged in the pages of a bible, which probably saved the life of the soldier who carried it.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A bugle used during one of the final battles of Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign at Cold Harbor, between May 31 and June 12, 1884.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A single breasted frock coat that belonged to Captain William N. Ward of Company D, 47th Virginia Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded in the right arm while wearing this coat at the battle of Gaines Mill, and died August 29th, 1862 from the wound in a Richmond Hospital. Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A glove belonging to Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, a Confederate General considered to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in US history.Henry Leutwyler for TIME
Civil War Artifacts by Henry Leutwyler for TIME
A seven star Confederate flag that was one of the first to fly over Ft. Sumter, in South Carolina.Henry Leutwyler for TIME

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com