While researching a Abraham Lincoln biography in the 1950s, Stefan Lorant stumbled on a dated April 25, 1865 photograph of the president’s funeral procession down Broadway. The shot captures the corner house belonging to Cornelius van Schaack Roosevelt, grandfather of Theodore Roosevelt. In a second‑story window, two boys—later confirmed as the future president and his brother Elliott—watch the mourning crowd.

Eleanor Roosevelt, then a child visiting the mansion, recognized the boys when Lorant showed her the image. She recalled the black‑clad procession frightening her, and how Theodore and Elliott ushered her into a back room to calm her tears. Her personal memory ties a private family moment to a national tragedy, underscoring the photograph’s emotional resonance.

In 1952 National Archives chief Josephine Cobb uncovered Mathew Brady’s glass‑plate negative of the Gettysburg speakers’ platform, proving Lincoln stood there hours before his famed address. Together with the Roosevelt window image, these finds demonstrate how diligent archival work can surface visual artifacts that enrich our grasp of Civil War iconography and presidential history.

Tomorrow, the National Archives will host the second part of its ‘Discovering the Civil War’ series in Washington, D.C., featuring additional photographic revelations. Enthusiasts and scholars alike can expect further insight into the visual record of the era. The program includes a panel on preservation techniques and a display of newly digitized negatives.