Reuploading media library after restoration

So I had to reinstall wordpress and I thought all would be fine since I had a bajillion backups, but I didn’t realize that a normal backup wouldn’t include media. I had hundreds of images arranged carefully in slideshows inside of a theme (prophoto) and I’m trying to figure out if there’s any way I can avoid doing those many hours of work over again. I’ve tried uploading files through cpanel to the same location as the missing media claims to be, but I still only get blank thumbnails and details.
Is there anything I can do? Or is it time to throw myself in front of something large and fast?