Bayonet-wielding troops in the British 31st Regiment of Foot overwhelm Sikh artillerists at Mukdi, the opening battle of the bloody First Sikh War between Great Britain and the Sikh empire.

Alexander Gardner

The Battle of Sobraon: Indian Waterloo

By Mike Phifer

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Sikh empire in northern India, was dead. Under his intrepid leadership, starting in 1799, Afghan control over Punjab, or Five Rivers Land, was thrown off and the Sikh empire flourished over the next 40 years. Read more

Alexander Gardner

Battle of Antietam: Clash in the Cornfield

By Michael E. Haskew

The White House was a somber place in the summer of 1862. The Civil War was in the midst of its second costly year, and the Union armies had yet to win a significant victory in the eastern theater. Read more

Alexander Gardner

Photographing the Battle of Antietam

By Roy Morris, Jr.

Two days after the unparalleled bloodletting at Antietam, a bushy-bearded Scottish photographer and his pudgy, clean-shaven assistant rolled onto the battlefield with their bulky stereoscopic cameras and portable darkroom. Read more