LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On a national holiday where symbols can dominate--from flags, to stars, to bald eagles--a picture of people can connect us with what really matters on Veterans Day.
Given that, a recently restored photograph at the Filson Historical Society--ten feet in length, and more than 130 years old--showing dozens of Kentucky military men is being unveiled for the public at the perfect time.
Filson Curator Heather Potter knew she had stumbled upon something special when she found the photograph rolled up and decaying on a top shelf of the museum's "Stack" collection storage.
Dating back to 1889, it was created using multiple photos capturing each troop in the "Louisville Legion," the precursor to the Kentucky National Guard.
Each individual photograph taken was then blended together to create a faux-panorama, showing the Legion as it prepared to board a train bound for the centennial celebration of President George Washington's inauguration.
Men of The Louisville Legion, 1889
"Unraveling this picture kind of hit home for me," Potter said. "To see all these veterans in this image that nobody really knew existed."
The Louisville Legion can be traced back as early as the Mexican War, and its history during the Civil War was complicated.
While the Legion itself remained faithful to the Union, individual soldiers fought on both sides of the war--which makes the photograph at the Filson all the more remarkable.
"You've got generals in the picture [who] may have been Confederate or Union," Potter explained. "It's kind of a mixing of the two sides of the Civil War. And so, it's a lens into this unique time period in Kentucky military history."
The photograph has just completed a three-year restoration process--which cost $10,000 to complete--and has been digitized so as to be accessible to audiences around the world.
Curators hope that the public will access the image, identify familial connections to the Louisville Legion, and learn more about the rich and complex history of the military and veterans in Kentucky.
"Not only are we honoring those who served in 1889, but we're also honoring the men and women that are serving today," Potter said.
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