In 1863, Gen. Herman Haupt, chief of the U.S. Military Railroad Construction Corps, detailed Capt. Andrew J. Russell to act as his photographer to "illustrate operations in construction and transportation as used to facilitate the movements of the armies of the Rappahannock, of Virginia and of the Potomac." A camera was quickly located, and government funds — $150 per month — were provided for Russell to carry out his mission.

Below are some of the pictures Russell took before and during the Chancellorsville Campaign.