The Photographic History of the Civil War by Past Bandit

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N<.

Q^U'

Tlie Photographic History

The In

Civil

War

Ten Volumes

V ^ O O

WARâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; A CONFEDERATE PHOTOGRAPH

PREPARING FOR Florida Opens the

who

Grim Game

so long held possession of

ernment had erected a strong

any

vessels going

War.

what

now

a sandy point at the entrance to Pensacola

up to Pensacola must

both forts were practically ungarrisoned.

pass.

foes,

warUke moves.

Between

this point

Here we see one

years ago, the Spaniards

its site

the United States Gov-

and a low-lying sandy island

directly opposite,

the western end of this island was the strongly built Fort Pickens.

This remarkable picture, taken by the

1S61, belongs to a series hitherto unpublished. of the earliest

Fort Barrancas.

(il

Bay over two hundred

the Gulf coast of the United States had built a fort.

fortification called

Out

of the deep

of the

shadows

heavy pieces

New

Early in 1861

Orleans photographer Edwards, in February,

of the sally port

we look

into the glaring simlight

upon one

ordnance that were intended to defend the harbor from foreign

being shifted preparatory to being mounted on the rampart at Fort Barrancas, which, since January 12th, had been in possession of

men under Lieutenant

State troops.

Fort Pickens, held by a mere handful

of State troops

imder orders from Governor Perry of Florida,

aroused the nation at Fort Sumter,

may

well be said to

in seizing

Slemraer,

still

flew the Stars

and

Stripes.

But the move

Fort Barrancas and raising the State flag even before the shot that

have helped force the

crisis

that was impending.

â&#x20AC;˘

Centennial

The Photographic History of The Civil War In

Ten Volumes

Francis Trevelyan Miller

Robert

Editor-in-uhief Chi

Lanier

Managing Editor

/,./

Thousands of Scenes Photographed 1861-G5, with Text by

many

Special Authorities

New York The Review of reviews 1911

Co. fâ&#x201A;Ź<

The Photographic History of The Civil War Ten Volumes

Volume One

The Openino-

Battles

Contributors

George Havex Putnam

William H. Taft

Majoi-, U. S. X.

President of the United States

HeNUY WrSHAil lyAMEK

JNIaKCTS J. AVuiCiHT

Art Editor and Publisher

EiiENf

JSriiiaeher-Cenerah C.

Hexuy

Saviet Lieutenant-Colonel, U.

Fkexcii E.

Elsox

Professor of Histor_v, Ohio Lniversit}-

Chaduick

Rear -Admiral, U.

\Y.

Ja:mes

I^akxi-.s

Author of

" D:\\\A

New York

The Review of Reviews Co. 1911

G. Farraijut

CuPYKKiHT,

mU, BY PATRIOT

PUBLISHlNCi Co., SPRIXGFIELl), MaSS.

ALL RKiHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN Printed in

-7

York, U.S.A.

]S'ew

THE TROW PRES W S G [

]

NEW YORK

Belitcatcl)

FIFTY YEARS AFTER

FORT SUMTER TO THE MEN IN BLUE AND GRAY WHOSE VALOR AND DEVOTION

HAVE BECOME THE PRICELESS HERITAGE

OF A UNITED NATION

AckiK)wle(lgnieiit

Vohnne this

due to Ja.mks Uakxes

The utmost

for pliotograph descriptions

throughout

care and interest have been sliown in the preparation of

Edgar Allen Forbes, Office Editor; Herbert T. Wade, George I^. Kilmer, late IT. S. ^^, Mihtary Editor: by their associates, GKOiuiE H. Casama.ioi;. Didley H. Miles, William 13. Shaw, Robert Sloss. Louis E. \"an

vohnne

l)y

Literary JLditor; Captain

Norman, and by Charles Schweinler and Carl ScHWENKER, through whose skilful and artistic inspection the engravings throughout

the book have greatly benefited

CONTENTS Map— Battle Grounds

— Preparing

Frontispiece

for

.........

War

of the Civil

War

PAGE '2

rart I

INTRODUCTORY

Preface

Editorial Introductory

Francis Trevelyan Miller

Photographing the Civil

War

...........

Henry Wysham Lanier

Part II

A SEMI-CENTENNIAL RETROSPEf^^

Foreword ]]'illiam

Howard

Taft

The Photographic Record George Haven

as History

Putnam

The Federal Navy and the South

French E. Chadwick

Records of the Marcus J

War

Betwep;n the States

lO'a

Wriglit

The Strategy of the Civil War Leaders

ll'-2

Ehen Swift

rart III

THE ONSET OF THE ARMIES

137

Henry W. Elson

Bull Run

—The

Volunteers Face Fire 111

142

—

Part

PAGE

DOWN THE

MISSISSIPPI VALLF.Y

171

The Fall of Fort Hexry and Fort Donelson

178

Henry W. Elson Shiloh

—The

First (Irand Battle

196

Henry W. Ehon

New

J\L\drid

.........

and Island Number Ten

216

Henry W. Ehon

New

Orleans

—The

Navy Helps the Army

226

James Barnes

Fort Pillow and Memphis

—Gixboats

.\nd

Batteries

236

Henry W. Elson

Part

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL

.251

Henry W. Elson

YoRKTOWN Fair

Oaks — In

thk.

Pkmnsula

Suiht of

Ruhmond

The Shenandoah and the Alarm Seven Days

—The

254 282

at Washington

304

Confederate Capital Saved

Part

ENGAGEMENTS OF THE

CIVIL

310

WAR UP TO

JULY,

1862

.345

George L. Kilmer

Map —Theater

of Campaigns in Virginia

[12]

369

Introductory

PREFACE To

Mr. Francis Trevelyaii Miller

tlir

publishers of

obligation quite apart from the usual

editorial

been possible to construct the text of such an extended history

Yet

broad idea.

it is

must confess an

hooks

these

Seldom indeed has

services. in

accordance with a single

true that the contributions throughout the entire ten volumes of the

PiiOTOCRAi'Hic History arc a direct outgrowth of the plan created years ago by Mr. Miller,

and urged

by him with constant

since

importance

faith in its national

— to

emithasize in

comprehensive form those deeds and words from the mighty struggle that strike universal, noble

human

This was a conception so straightforward and so inspiring that

chords.

the opportunity to give

the ])resent

embodiment has become

Readers as well as publishers arc also indebted to the

and others who have furnished hundreds

a lasting privilege.

collectors, historical societies,

of long-treasured photographs, imwilling that the

History should appear without presenting many important scenes illustrations

had ever before been available to the

photographs

many hundreds

even to historians and special scholars

Confederate armies and of the hosts

momentous than

War-time

Civil

in Ihc ^Mississippi

With

these additions to the

and redisco\'ery of which Mr. Henry jjossible for the first

epic, in

of scenes that will

—photographs

come

taken witliin the

as a re\-e-

lines of the

was no

Valley, who.se fighting

less

the Eastern battles, but in the nature of things could not be as quickly

or as fully heralded.

American

which no actual

the present work are not only several times as numerous as those in any

previous publication, but also include lation

Hence the

jniblic.

Wysham

"Brady-Gardner"

time to present comprehensively the

men and

— the — now

collection

Lanier's introductory narrates

loss

scenes and types of the

photographs.

Deep acknowledgment

due the owners of indispensable pictures who have

.so

gen-

erously contributed them for this purpose.

Especial mention must be given to: Mrs.

K. Bachman; Mr. William Beer; Mr. James

Blair, C. S. A.;

Edward Bromley; Mr. John

Mr. George A. Brackett; Mr.

C. Brown; Ca])tain Josejjh T. JJurke, C. S. A.; Captain ¥. ^\.

Colston, C. S. A.; Colonel E.

Copp, U.

S. V.;

Colonel S. A. Cunningham, C.

S. A.;

The

Daughters of the Confederacy; Mr. Charles Frankel; Mr. Edgar R. Harlan; Colonel Chas. R. K. Koch, r. S. v.; Miss Isabel Maury; Mr. F. H. Meserve; l.oyal Legion; Colonel

John N. Nicholson,

Captain F. A. Roziene, U.

S. A.;

South Carolina; The Washington state

T^. S.

General G. P. Thruston, U. Artillery,

The Military Order

V.; General Harrison

of the

Otis, V. S. V.;

The

Uni^•crsity of

historical

departments,

S. V.;

and the various State

and government bureaus, military and

Gray

patriotic organizations

which courteously

su.spended their rides, in order that the photographic treasures in their archives should

become available

for the present record.

The Publishers.

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTORY

the Western World

known

nation has ever

— these

War — the war

Civil

—a

of the

of the greatest crises that a

that changed the course of civilization.

crisis

Napoleon through the glamor

modern Roses

volumes are dedicated to the Aiiieriean people

and the valor with which they met one

tribute to the courage

American

this semi-centennial of the ill

of time, without fully realizing that here

continent are battle-grounds more noble in their puri)ort than

all

look back

on our own

the wars of the ancient

The decades have shrouded the first American Re\'olution in romance, but the time has now come when this second American revolution, at tlie turning point of its regimes.

first half

men

century,

become an American

epic in which nearly three and a half million

gathered on the battle-line to offer their lives for principles that were dear to them.

an American "Battle Abbey" that these

It is as

so that the eyes of the generations ina>' look

ii))()n

i)ages are I

lie

opened on

actual scenes

nished muskets, the silenced cannon, nor the battle-stained

flag,

this anniversary,

— not

ui)on the tar-

but upon the warriors

themselves standing on the firing-line in the heroic struggle when the hosts of the North

and the legions of a continent

South met on the battle-grounds of a nation's

of the

hanging

be able to gather about

in the balance.

And what

the.se [jages in ])eace

a tribute

it is

ideals,

with the destiny

American character

and brotherhood, without malice

antl

man-

dissension, within a generation from the greatest fratricidal tragedy in the annals of

kind.

The

\ision

without

no longer blinded by heart wounds, but as Americans we can see

only the heroic self-sacrifice of these

men

wlio battled for the decision of one of the worlil's

greatest problems.

In this

first

xolume, standing

which the vision briefly to a

war

literally before the

The PhotoWar Department

few of the intimate desires that have led to this revelation of

graphic History of the Civil War.

.Vs

one stands

at Wasliington, or before the archi\es of the

word

open door to the "Battle Abbey,"

to be revealed in all its reality, I take this privilege to refer

of evidence

must have been

recoriled.

in the library of the

American

libraries,

Nearly seven thousand

feels

that the last

treatises,

containing

varying viewpoints relating to this epoch in our national development, have been written

—so

Dr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian at the Congressional Library at Washington,

me; while

my home

city of Hartford,

which

a typical American community,

nearly two thousand works similar to those that are within the reach of

all

tells

I find

the American

people in every part of the country.

With

this great inheritance before us, military writers

cannot understand war.

why

the American people have been so

have informed me that they

little

interested in this remarkable

Great generals have told how they led their magnificent armies in battle; military

taicticians

have mapped and recorded the mo\ements [1.5]

of regiments

and corps with tech-

iElittnnal ilntrnbitrtnrg nical accuracy,

and historians have

—

ship.

have come to the conclusion that the lack

civilization

not a militnrv nation.

maneuver, which interest in

The

all

of wliicli

great heart of

effects of this

a permanent tribute to American scholar-

crisis

and the

faithfully discussed the causes

strange

of ])oi)uhir interest

American

citizenshii^

knows

because this

little of

military

a science that requires either life-study or tradition to cultivate an

it.

The Americans

are a peace-loving people, but

moral and physical fighting

force.

when once aroused they

mighty

are a

not their love for the art of war that has caused

them to take up arms. It is the iui])ulse of justice th;it permeates the Western World. The American people feel the jjulse of life itself; they love the greater emotions that cause men to meet danger face to face. Their hearts beat to the martial strain of the national anthem "The Star Spangled Banner" and they feel the melody in that old Marof the Confederacy, "Dixie,

.seillaise

ing lines under floating banners at

for in

them they catch mental

the battle-front

more than that

the clatter of cavalry; l)ut

— they

;

the swecj)-

\-isions of

they hear the roar of the guns and

feel

again the

sjjirit

that leads

men

throw themselves into the cannon's flame.

The Photogr.\phic History of the

War

Civil

comes on

fathers

had stood shoulder

devoted people whose

to shoulder for the ideal of liberty in the

American Revolution,

who had issued to the world who had fornuilated

the declaration that

line of a great

years later, hand

miiversal ))eace

This

which

new hope

firing

to the races of the earth

hand

romance and chivalry

same

flag, offering their

phalanx or continent

and

monarchy and

— parted at the dividing in

the greatest

for the

betterment of mankind, ])ledging themselves to

and Ijrotherhood.

told in these time-stained ])hotographs

inspiring than that of the olden

men speaking

brother against brother, father against son, the

are created politically free

world has ever witnessed, only to be reunited and to stand,

the American epic that

men

economic ]iroblem and stood arrayed against each other

fratricidal tragedy that the fifty

all

the Constitution that dethroned mediiieval

ecjual,

founded a new republic to

this anniversary to witness

how

a peoi)le's valor; to testify in ])hotograph to the true story of

Roman

same language,

living

Hacs for that which they believed to be right.

legion ever

knew

truer

manhood than

when the Anglo-Saxon met Anglo-Saxon

princi])le that beset their

the

beloved nation.

in those

— an

epic

knighthood;

under

Grecian

days on the American

decision of a constitutional

in the

was more than Napoleonic,

for its warriors

battled for principle rather than conquest, for right rather than ]iower.

This

the spirit of these \'olumcs, and

every true American.

mede.

I recall

It is the

.seems to

that

must he the

won

s])irit

commingled the

"What

else could

l)lood of the jiroud cavaliers of

Runny-

General Gordon, an American who turned the defeat of war into the

tory of citizenship in peace, once saying: who.se veins

sacred heritage of Anglo-Saxon freedom

vic-

be expected of a jieople

England, the blood of those

devout and resolute men who jirotested against the grinding exactions

of the Stuarts;

the blood of the stalwart Dissenters and of the heroic Highlanders of Scotland, and of [16]

®lir jpiintu^rapbtr l^tBtnrg

W*xx

tlir (Utittl

the sturdy Presbyterians of Irelan(i; the blood of those defenders of freedom

who came

summoned

her people

from the mountain battlements of Switzerland, whose signal

make way

to gather to their breasts the armfuls of spears to battle-line of Puritan, of

Huguenot,

nation and every religion throwing

on the altar of

its sacrifice

War

each side arguing conscientiou.sly from

was a great

Teuton, and Celt

— every

civilization.

always be subject to academic controversy,

will

its

own

viewpoint.

these pages over the centuries of economic growth that

It is

came

In the light of modern historical understanding

nation.

for liberty. "

of Protestant, of Catholic, of

causes of the American Civil

The

lights

unnecessary to linger in

to a crisis in the

was the inevitable

American result of a

system that had come down through the ages before there was a republic on

sociological

came

the Western continent, and which finally

to a focus through the conflicting interests

When

that developed in the upbuilding of American civilization.

and Madison

Jefferson

construed our constitution in one way, and AVashington and Hamilton in another, surely not strange that their descendants should have differed.

it is

all

—

ditions

There

glory enough for

on these battle-grounds

for North, for South, for East, for W^est,

of a people's tra-

— a grander empire than Ca?sar's legions won for Rome. the impulse of both the North and the South

feel

When, some years

the desire of these volumes.

ago, I left the portals of Trinity College, in the old abolition

town

Hartford, Conn., to enter the halls of Washington and Lee Uni\ersity in historic Lexinghills of Virginia. I lelt for

ton in the

what

means

greatness of Grant, looked

Lee.

the

to be a Southerner.

upon

Northerner, indigenous to the

tinu' as a

first

who had

Iiowed

head from childhood

friends Ijowing their heads before the

mausoleum

stood with them as they laid the April flowers on the graves of their dead, and

When

the heart-beat of the Confederacy. to lay the laurel and the

the Republic \^^len I

May flowers on

— more than that,

now turn

how wonderful

I felt

my New my dead, and

returned to

the gra\"es of

man and

his

power to blaze the path

for progress

earth; a nation

New

W^orld into which

whose sinews are

built

young

race,

but

its

exploits

of the ages,

— a composite

severance, and the fortitude of the world's oldest races, It

men who

was

all

have

men.

lived;

proud that

planted the seed

flowing the blood of the great races of the

from the strong men

beat the impulses that have inspired the centuries

bing body.

I felt

the heart-beat of

the impulse of humanity and the greatness of

these pages I realize what a magnificent thing

heritage runs back through nearly three hundri-d years to the of liberty in the

England home I felt

soil,

to the

and

whose hearts

of the courage, the per-

commingled

into one great throb-

have equalled those of the heroic age

the Grecian legends and surpass Leonidas and his three hundred at Thermopylje. In

full

recognition of the masterly works of military authorities that

valuable historical evidence, these volumes present the American Civil tirely original viewpoint.

The

collection of photographs

to military and historical record, and the text

human

impulses, and the ideals that

in itself a sufficient contribution

Red and

the W'hite Roses in America,

rei^resents in the heart of humanity. (17

exist as in-

from an en-

designed to present the mental pictures of

the inspiring pageantry in the war between the its

now

War

i£bit0rtal dJutro^urtorg The

armies liave been exhaustively studied properly to

military movenu'iits of the

may burden

stage the great scenes that are herein enacted, but the routine that or detract from the broader, martial picture that

avoided.

human dant

lies

the desire to leave impressions rather than statistics; mental visions and

inspiration rather than military knowledge, especially as the latter

American

numbers

so conflicting regarding

now

so abun-

In every detail the contradictory evidence of the

literature.

authorities has been weighed carefully to present the narrative fairly is

memory

the

before the reader has been purposely

and

in battle

many

and impartially.

and wounded that the Government

killed

records have been followed, as closely as possible.

The hand

may

of the historian

the American Civil AYar

look u|K)n the photographic evidence.

common ground

may

It is in

all

—Northerners

independence from

for

of the Constitution that

bound them

The

these photographs that

final

reader

record of

may

—and

who fought

—each according to

all

united at the

here the generations

to maintain the his

own

They

bring

into a great rei)ublic of states.

Mr. William Short, the

passing through the civilized world. in

history

.secretary of the

sjieaking of them, truly says that they are the greatest

peace that the world has ever seen.

make

— to

of the

before the generations so impressively that one begins to

understand the meaning of the great mo\ement for universal brotherhood that

Peace Society,

Union

interpretation

These photographs are appeals to peace; they are the most convincing evidence tragedy of war.

con-

Americans can

all

Here we are

or Southerners

look upon the undying record of the valor of those

and those who fought

but the

be of one and the same mind when we

of their beloved traditions.

shrine where our fathers fought

fail,

time-dimmed negatives.

we must

scientiously disagree with the text, but

meet on the

judgment may

falter, or his

told in these

Their mission

mould the thought

more than

now

arguments

to record history;

of the generations as everlasting

New York for

it is

witnesses of the

price of war.

As the founder

of this

memorial

give historical record to ]Mr.

Frank Drake,

of the

Patriot Publishing

largest private collection of original

whom

this

l)v

friendly, fair,

and

its

Company,

editor-in-chief,

of Springfield, Mass.,

pleasure to

whom

York, through

owners

Handy, president

Gilliss

was organized

The

for its present develop-

These institutions have

im])artial conception of this work.

of the

Civil ^Ya^ negatives in existence,

Mr. Egbert

the Review of Reviews Com])auy.

realize the national

New

and

Brady-Gardner

work was inaugurated, and

Search-Light Library of

ment

lil)rary,

Edward Bailey Eaton, Mr. Herbert Myrick, and Mr.

all

result,

intinuvte picture of America's greatest .sorrow

co-operated to

we hope,

and greatest glory

than has jierhaps been possible under the conditions that preceded this semi-centennial anniversary.

President William

Howard

Taft,

who

has extended his autographed message to the

North and the South, the editors take pleasure to Generals Sickles

in recording their dee]) appreciation; also

and Buckner, the oldest surviving generals

in the

Federal and Con-

federate armies, respectively, on this anniversary; to General Frederick [18]

Dent Grant and

General G.

American

Custis Lee, the sons of the great warriors

Crisis; to the

James W. Cheney, Librarian

War Department

in the

Holden, Librarian at the United States sideration

who

led the armies through the

War;

Washington; to Dr. Edward

Honorable Robert Todd Lincoln, former Secretary

and advice, and to the

INlilitary

officers of

Academy

Grand Army

the

West

Point, for their con-

of the Rci)uljlic, the Military

Order of the Loyal Legion, the L'nited Confederate Veterans, the Daughters

We are

intent of this work. tional Tribune;

especially indebted to

Con-

of the

shown an appreciation

federacy, and the other memorial organizations that have

Mr. John McElroy, editor

of the

of the A'fl-

General Bennett H. Young, the historian of the LTnited Confederate Vet-

erans; General Grenville

M. Dodge;

Colonel

A. Cunningham, founder and editor of the

Confederate Veteran, General L-vine Walker, General William E. Mickle, and to the

many

others who, in their understanding and ai)preciation have rendered valuable assistance in the realization of its special mission to the

This preface should not close without a

American people on

final

word

this semi-centennial.

as to the difficulty of the

problems

that confronted the military, historical, and other authorities whose contributions have

made

the text of

The Photographic History of the

Civil War, whose names are signed

and the

to their historical contributions throughout these volumes,

ing with the editorial

staft'

Review

of the

of Reviews, they

impossibility of deciding finally the difference of opinion in the

War

has been generously recognized.

been

set

aside in the universal

tions of this work. ants,

With

and hearty

all

ask further |)rivilege to extend

we stand

which, work-

movements

The

of the Ci\"il

personal and partisan arguments have

effort

all

concerned to

gratitude to

Mr. Walter R. Bickford, Mr. Arthur Forrest Burns, and

And now,

spirit in

have met these problems.

^Nlr.

fulfil

the obliga-

personal assist-

Wallace H. Miller.

to-day, fellowmen in the great republic that

carrying the

torch in the foreraiiks of the world's civilization, let us clasp hands across the long-gone

years as reunited Americans.

can close these introductory words with no nobler tribute

than those of the mighty warriors

who

Robert E. Lee who, after the war, gave these animosities and

make your

led the great armies to battle. this advice to a Virginia

was General

mother, "Abandon

all

sons Americans," and General Ulysses S. Grant, whose

appeal to his countrymen must always be an admonition against war: "Let us have peace."

FRANCIS TREVELYAX MILLER, Ed itor-in-Ch ief.

Hartford, Connecticut, Fiftieth Anniversary

Lincoln's Inauguration. [19]

A STRIKING

The

'63

introduction on page 30, "Photographing the Civil War," remarks on the genius required to record

such vivid action by camera in the days of it

WAR PHOTOGRAPH OF

was a pioneer

that Brad}' trained could do .such focus.

The

'61.

use of the instrument had not then become pastime;

science, requiring absolute knowledge, training,

work

as this.

and experience.

Only experts

like the

men

There were no lightning shutters, no automatic or universal

In positions of danger and at times when speed and accuracy were required, there was the delicacy

of the old-fashioned

wet plate to consider, with

pictures such as this exist; they

pen and pencil

had grown used

to portray such scenes of action.

all its

drawbacks.

to the old

No wonder

people were surprised that

woodcut and the often mutilated attempts

There are many who never knew that photography was

Copyriglit by Kei'ivw of

Ui:iiijii.'ti

Co.

ARTILLERY "REGULARS" BEFORE CHANCELLORSVILLE

possible

ill

the Civil War.

Yet look

before the battle of Chancellorsville.

at this L'nioii ])attery,

taken hy the shore of the Rappahannoek, just

Action, movement, portraiture are shown.

standing in front giving his orders; his figure leaning slightly forward

mand.

The cannoneers,

made the Army of ing repulse

ultimately ville

the

resting or

Potomac

ramming home

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the army doomed to

by the famous flanking charge

became

won

can hear the

the charges, are magnificent types of the suffer, a

war

few days after

of history.

officer

tense with s])oken words of com-

tliis

men who

i)icture w-as taken, its crush-

"Stonewall" Jackson; yet the army which kept

invincible in the greatest civil

defeat the troops engaged

faitli

and

Within sixty days after the Chancellors-

a signal triumph over the self-same opponents at Gettysburg.

TIIK

ILANklNG

photiisraph iif BattiTV D, Second I'. S. Artillery, was. accuriliiif,' to the photographer's account, taken just as the battery was loading to engage with the Confederates. The order, "cannoneers to your posts." had just been given, and the men, running up. called to the photographer to hurry

This

rc?iiark;ilily s|)iiitc(l

of the way unless he wished to gain a place for his In June. 1863, the Sixth Corps had third successful crossing of the Rappahannock, as the advance of Hookers movement against Lee. Battery at once took position with other artillery out in the fields near the his

wagon out

name made

in the list of casualties its

GETTING THE RANGE another photograph taken under f3re and shows us Battery B, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, in action before Petersburg, Brady, the veteran photographer, obtained permis1864. sion to take a picture of "Cooper's Battery," in position for battle. The first attempt provoked the fire of the Confederates,

This

who supposed that the running forward of the artillerists was with hostile intent. The Confederate guns frightened Brady s horse which ran off with his wagon and his assistant, upsetting and destroying his clu'micals. In the picture to the left. Captain James H. Cooper himself is seen leaning on a sword at the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

'CANNONEERS TO YOUR POSTS" niins of the Mansfield

In the rear of the battery the veteran \'ermont brigade was acting as support. To tlieir rear was the bank of the river skirted bj' trees. The grove of white With poplars to the right surrounded the Mansfield house. characteristic coolness, some of the troops had already pitched house.

Ri;\i)\

dog tents. Better protection was .soon afforded by the .strong earthworks which was thrown iij) and ni-cupied li.\' the Sixth Corps. Battery was present ai the first ba Itle of Bull Run, where the Confederates there engaged got a taste of its metal on the Federal left their

line of

TO on

extreme right. Lieutenant Miller is the second figure from the left. Lieutenant Alcorn is next, to the left from Captain Cooper. Lieutenant James A. Gardner, just behind the prominent figure with the haversack in the right section of the picture, identified these members almost forty-seven years after the picture was

iRi;

This Pennsylvania battery suffered greater loss than any taken. other volunteer I'nion battery; its record of casualties includes twenty-one killed and died of wounds, and fifty-two wounded convincing testimony of the fact that thi-oughout the war its men stood bravely to their guns.

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A WASIIIXGTOX BELLE IX

From

15ull

Run

to Gettyshiirn the Federal caj^ital

('AINIP

was repeatedly threatened hy the advances

of the

Confederates, and strong camps for the defense of Washington were maintained throughout the war.

was the smart thing

for the ladies of the capital to invade these outlying

camps, and they were always

welcomed by the

officers weary of continuous guard-duty. Here the camera has caught the willing suliject handsome Kate Chase Sprague, who became a belle of official society in Washington during the war. She was the daughter of Salmon P. Chase, Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury. At this time she was the wife

Governor William Sprague,

Abercrombie, an

Rhode

officer of the regular

Island,

and was being entertained

army, well know-n in the

capital.

camp by General

A HORSE AND RIDER THAT WILL LIVE

Here

an extraordinary photograpli of a spirited charger taken half a century ago.

the

mount

The

rider

of Lieut. -CoL C. B.

the envy of shutters,

Colonel Norton himself.

Such

clear definition of every feature of

modern photography, which does not achieve

and instantaneous dry

plates,

process has preserved every detail.

before exposing

it,

imcap the

This noble beast

Norton, and was photographed at General Fitz John Porter's headquarters.

lens

sucli

which can be developed at secure results like this

man and

depth without fast leisure.

lenses,

focal-plane

Here the old-time wet-plate

was necessary

by hand, and develop the negative within

horse might well be

five

to sensitize the plate just

minutes after the exposure.

PHOTOGRAPHING THE

CIVIL

WAR

Bv Hexry Wysham Lanier

EXTRAORDINARY

W \

as the fact seems, the American the only great war of which we have an adequate history in photograj)hs: that is to say, this is the only conflict of the first maonitnde^ in the world's history that can be really " illustrated," with a ]Mctorial record which is indis2:)utably authentic, vividly illuminating, and the final evidence in any question of detail. Here is a much more imj^ortant historical fact than the casual reader realizes. The earliest records we have of the human race are i3vn-ely pictorial. Historj'', even of the most Civil ^Vai-

'^ ,

shadowy and legendary sort, goes back hardly more than ten thousand years. But in recent years tliere have been recovered in certain caves of France scratched and carved bone Aveapons and rough wall-paintings which tell us some dramatic events in the lives of men who lived probably a hundred thousand years before the earliest of those seven strata of ancient Troy, which indefatigable archeologists have exposed to the wondering gaze of the modern world. The picture came long before the written record; nearly all our knowledge of ancient Babylonia and Assyria is gleaned from the details left

by some ])icture-maker.

And

it is still

infinitely

efl'ective

an appeal. How impossil)le it is for the average person to get any clear idea of the great struggles which altered the destinies of nations and which occupy so large a portion of world history! How can a man to-day really understand the siege of Troy, the battles of Thennojjykt or Salamis, Hannibal's crossing of the Alps, the famous fight at Tours \\hen Charles " the Hammer " checked the Saracens, the Xorman

'There have been,

of course, only two wars of this description since the Franco-Prussian War was, for some reason, not followed by camera men; and the marvellously expert photographers who flocked to the strufTgles between Russia and Japan were not given any chance by the Ja])anese auth.orities to make anything like an adequate record.

1865:

;iO I

ISilow

The indomitable war photographer in the very costume which made figure at the first

him a familiar

York

New

photogra-

Main Street, ISG-t, when in the

stood on in

Confederate Secret

Service Lytle trained his camera u])on the Federal

put into practice his scheme for

army which

pied Baton Rouge.

Brady was a

picturing the war.

of the

<in|jloy

attempt to

after his initial

Confederate

Baton Rouge,

Bull Run, from which

battle of

he returned precipitately to

the gallery of A. D.

—a pher — as Lytle

occu-

was indeed

Cork Irishman by birth and pos-

dangerous work, as discovery of his

the active tempera-

purpose would have visited upon

sessed of

all

ment which such an Later

things.

Brady

himself

and

flee,

the photographer the fate of a spy.

origin implies.

At Bull Run he was

the

was

day.

tlie

compelled

at nightfall

tol.

he lost his

way

in the

name.

its

woods near

found by some

pany

Here

of the

New York

his defense.

on beneath

made

his

thence to ture

New

see

him

at Scott's Bluff,

still

shots

rifle

flag

whence the news

New

was relayed to

made

Orleans, and

Fire Depart-

precious prints tlirough the

Brady,

photographic

Bradx

thony

Washington and

Y'ork.

of the capi-

|)rovision

his linen duster,

way

on the ruins

and often exposed

famous com-

Buckling

orlantern signal totheConfederates

was

ment Zouaves, who gave him sword for

secretly

from the Federals, would with

the stream from which the battle takes

steal

Observation Tower, which had

lieeu built

that

Sunday, alone and unarmed.

fatal

would

Lytle

in the thick

for

Lytle

lines.

obtained

from

supplies

Company

smuggling the

New

his

An-

Y'ork;

but unlike Cook of Charleston, he

In the pic-

did not have to depend

proudly wear-

traband

ing the weapon which he was pre-

traffic

upon con-

to secure them, but

got them passed on the "orders to

pared to use for the protection of

trade" issued quite freely

himself and his precious negatives.

BR.\I)Y.

AITER

Bl'LL

RUN

Coptjright

the

West bv the Federal Government.

r„p,,ri,ihl hi, Reririr of Tlr.

hi,

Rnini' „! R,ri.

„:<

(

;,.

THE GALLERY OF A CONFEDERATE SECRET-SERVICE PHOTOGRAPHER, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, 1864

conquest of England, the Hinidred Years' or Thirty Years" Wars, even our own seven-year struggle for liberty, without any first-hand picture-aids to start the imagination? Take the comparatively modern Napoleonic wars where, moreover, there is an excej^tional wealth of })aintings, drawings, prints, and lithographs by contemporary men in most cases the effect is simply one of keen disappointment at the painfully evident fact that most of these worthy artists never saw a battle or :

a camp.

So the statement that there have been gathered together thousands of pliotographs of scenes on land and water during those momentous years of 1861 to 1865 means that for our generation and all succeeding ones, the Civil "War is on a basis different from all others, is practically an open book to old and young. For when man acliieved the ])hotograph he took almost as important a step forward as when he discovered

make fire: he made scenes and events and personalities immortal. The greatest literary genius might write a volume how

without giving you so intimate a comprehension of the struggle before Petersburg as do these exact records, made by adventm-ous camera-men vmder incredible difficulties, and holding calmly before your eyes the very Reality itself. To apply this pictorial principle, let us look at one remarkable photograph. Cooper's Battery in front of the Avery house, during the siege of Petersburg, of w^hich w^e have, by a lucky chance, an account from one of the men in the scene.

The

lifelikeness of the picture

beyond

stated:

am, even at this late day, able to pick out and recognize a very number of the members of our battery, as shown in this photograph. Our battery (familiarly known as Cooper's Battei\y) belonged to tlie Fifth Corps, then commanded by Gen. G. K. Warren. Our corps arrived in front of Petersburg on June 17, 1864), was put I

large

into position on the evening of that day, and engaged the Confederate hitteiies on thtii line ul

the A\li's house

Tile

enenn

&J :^^

ss^

w^ i'l

'^^^

praise:

one cannot help living through this tense moment with these men of long ago, and one's eyes instinctively follow their fixed gaze toward the lines of the foe. This picture was shown to Lieutenant James A. Gardner (of Battery B, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery), who immediately named half a dozen of the figures, adding details of the most intimate interest.

P"ÂŤl

tli it

time

^ ^

11^

nil Here are two excellent views

I'1IU|()(,I{\|'I11

which we sec the condiliniis under

army photographer worked in the field. Tlic larj;cT picture is of Barnard, the Government photographer under Captain O. M. Poe, Chief Engineer of the Military Division of the wliich the

Barnard was engaged to take photographs

jSIississippi.

new Federal direction

fortifications being constructed

Atlanta,

September-October, 1864.

found the old Confederate

of the

under Captain Poe's

Captain Poe

line of defense of too great extent

be held by such a force as Sherman intended to leave as garrison

Consequently, he selected a new line of

of the town.

much

shorter development which passed through the northern part of

the town,

making necessary the destruction

that quarter. here

work

Barnard

many

buildings in

K Willi

III

with his

Poe,

battle-field

\KM\ official

as the battle of Atlanta, in

Thus Brady and

right

up to the trenches, lugging

of glass plates over

the

many

supplies

the

and

any time picked

off

right.

the

shells.

smaller

Columbia, South

Slierman's

passed

the

cit\

through

their

famous

tlirough the Caro-

Ini IS

"Ilu

was

This as

troops

m udi

being

In the back-

bunnd

His

ebrnnry,

1805.

ijhotographer, bring-

ing up the rear, has pre-

to the

ser\ed

the

Sherman t\pi(

the entire serii^

b\ hini

photographs show in-.;

was made

to be forwarded later to

Washington by Captain

worked

"What-Is-It,"

Brady's

Carolina.

were carried in

their progress

c\nnbersume tents and

ground are the ruins of the State Armory

corps worked on the forti-

their

the dark-room buggy of Photographer Wearn.

Thus, as the pioneer

fications,

photographers

by some sharpshooter.

picture appears a duplicate of

general

wagon showing

his

war

rough roads or exposed to possible

developing immedi-

chemicals

the

known

lost

chances of failure was added that of being at

sensitizing

ately within the tent.

all

see the

1H(>4,

t.''2.

apparatus, often running out of supplies or carrying hundreds

makinghis exposures,

and

of .July

which General McPherson

life.

his plates in a light-proof

tent,

In Ihc biirkt;T()inid

report.

where began the engagement

mies

RUIN'S

OF STATE ARMCjRY, COLUMBIA,

1865

i^liich

done

ill

along the line

niiuh

ss to

result

work,

that

render use-

the Confederate ar-

the

field,

themili-

tarv resources of the South.

;

Itntn^rapliiug tip (Eiutl

Har

â&#x20AC;˘^

V7ffmmmwm6 was commanded by General Beauregard. That niglit the enemy fell back to their third line, which then occupied the ridge which you see to the right and front, along where you will notice the chimney (the houses had been burnt down). On the night of the 18th we threw up the lunettes This position was occupied by us until possibly in front of our guns. about the 23d or 2-ith of June, when we were taken further to the left. The position shown in the picture is about six hundred and M'ly j^ards in front, and to the right of the Avery house, and at or near tliis point was built a permanent fort or battery, which was used continuously during the entire siege of Petersburg.

Brady took the photographs, you have sent me. The photographs were taken in the June 21, 1861<. I know myself, merely from the position

AVhile occupying this position, Mr.

copies of which

forenoon of

that I occupied at that time,

a.s gunner. After that, I served as sergeant, first sergeant, and first lieutenant, holding the latter position at the close of the war. All the officers shown in this picture are dead.

The movement in which we were engaged was the advance of the of the Potomac upon Petersburg, being the beginning of operain front of that city. On June 18th the division of the Confederates

Army tions

which was opposite us was that of Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson but as the Army of Northern Virginia, under General Lee, began arriving on the evening of June 18th, it would be impossible for me to say who occupied the enemy's lines after that. The enemy's position, which was along on the ridge to the front, in the picture, where you see the chimney, afterward l)ccame the main line of the Union army. Our lines were advanced to that point, and at or about where you see the chimney standing. Fort Morton of the Union line was constructed, and a little farther to the right was Fort Steadman, on the same ridge and about where the battery now stands, as shown in the picture, was a small fort or works erected, ;

;

known

as Batterer Seventeen.

When engaged

in action, our men exliibited the same coolness that shown in the picture that is, while loading our guns. If the enemy is engaging us, as soon as each gun is loaded the cannoneers drop to the ground and protect themselves as best they can, except the gunners and the officers, who are expected to be always on the lookout. The gunners are the corporals who sight and direct the firing of the guns. In the photograph you will notice a person (in civilian's clothes). This is ~SIy. Brady or his assistant, but I think it is Mr. Brady himself. It is now almost forty-seven years since the photographs were taken, yet I am able to designate at least fifteen persons of our battery, and point them out. I should have said that Mr. Brady took picture No. 1 from a point a little to the left, and front, of our battery and tlie second one was taken a little to the rear, and left, of the battery. is

Petersburg

laj'

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

immediately^ over the ridge in the front, right over past [3i]

ÂŤ4

Si.

-^-^x^-

ill

nil

Co.

THE FIELD DARK-ROOM Here we get an exeellent idea

raphy, invented by Brady and

how the business of army photog-

first

exemphfied by him at Bull

Run, had become organized toward the

lower picture

see the outfit with

close of the war.

which Samuel A. Cooley

lowed the fortunes of the campaigners, and recorded for

Savannah

the stirring events aroimd

March

States

St.

\'ille,

Sea.

to the

United

In the

all

fol-

time

at the completion of the

Cooley was attached to the Tenth Corps.

Army, and

secured photographs at Jackson-

supply of chemicals, glass plates, and the precious finished negatives includes a

compartment

dark-room buggy to the necessarj' for the order.

for left

army photographer to proceed in

In the smaller picture

The

^â&#x20AC;˘iew

River.

see again the light-proof devel-

of the

from

darkly

bardment. Here he is in the act

could

The

ej-es of

cumbersome

possible the

and beautiful

and shade which charac-

terize

on,

eflfects

the

smoke

who

gunboats

the

waiting

just

beyond.

the footsore

and hungry

soldiers rushed forward to the

wonderful defini-

light

parapet at

With Sherman looking proudly

make

tion

the

"bummers,"

welcome them

the present day to

see

Federal

huge camera and plate-holder

seem to

Savannah

exterior of the fort fronting the

Sherman's

far too

was

marching

few days before the Confederate guns had frowned

Augustine, Beaufort,

making an exposure.

light

oping tent in action before the ramparts of Fort McAllister.

and Charleston during the bom-

The little

leisurely developing.

was used upon occasions when

attack,

and

the

Stars

and

Stripes were soon floating over

the war-time negatives

this vast barrier

between them

and the sea. The next morning,

through the vicissitudes of half

Christmas Day, 1864, the gun-

Here are Cooley 's

boats and transports steamed

that have

a century.

two means

The wagon

come dcmi

up the

transportation.

fitted to carry

the

THE

CIVIL

WAR PHOTOGRAPHERS' IMPEDIMENTA

river

news was

and the

joyful

flashed northward.

I|0tn9rapl|tu9

diutl

Har

â&#x20AC;˘^

-^s*

Jli^SSI^ffimJ tlie

man whom you

see sitting tlicre

so leisurely on the earthworks

thrown up.

notice in Hiiinphrci/s Journal in 1861 describes vividly the records of the flight after Bull Run secured by the indefatigable Brady. Unfortunately the unique one in which the reviewer identifled " Bull Run " Russell in reverse action is lost to the world. But we have the portrait of Brady himself three days later in his famous linen duster, as he returned to Washington. His story comes from one who had it from his

own

lips:

[Brady] had watched the ebb and flow of the battle on that in July, 1861, and seen now the success of the green Federal troops under General McDowell in the field, and now the stubborn defense of the green troops under that General Jackson who thereby

Sunday morning

earned the sobriquet of " Stonewall." At last Johnston, who with Beauregard and Jackson, was a Confederate commander, strengthened by reenforcements, descended upon the rear of the Union troops and drove them into a retreat which rapidly turned to a rout. The plucky photographer was forced along with the rest and as night fell lie lost his way in the thick woods which were not far from the little stream that gave the battle its name. He was clad in the linen duster which was a familiar sight to those who saw him taking his pictures during tliat campaign, and was by no means prepared for a night in the open. He was unarmed as well, and had nothing with which to defend himself from any of the victorious Confederates who might happen his way, until one of the famous company of " Fire "' zouaves, of the Union forces, gave him succor in the shape of a broadsword. This he strapped about his waist, and it was still there when he finally made He was a sight to behold after his way to Washington three days later. his wanderings, but he had come through unscathed as it was his fate to do so frequently afterwards.

;

\//

Instances might be multiplied indefinitely, but here

t>x////>r

â&#x20AC;˘^k

K^:

one

more evidence of the quality of this pictorial record. The same narrator had from Brady a tale of a picture made a year and a half later, at the battle of Fredericksburg. He saj^s: Burnsidc, then in command of the Army of the Potomac, was preparing to cross the Rappahannock, and Longstreet and Jackson, commanding the Confederate forces, were fortifying the Irills back of the right bank of that I'iver. Brad}', desiring as usual to be in the thick of things, undertook to make some pictures from the left bank. He placed cameras in position and got iiis men to work, but suddenly found him[30]

m//

V)^

PHOTOGRAPHERS AT SIGNAL TOWER, APPOMATTOX RIVER Everywhere that the armies went, went also the photographers. Here in one picture we see them preparing fur work at the Signal Station of the army on the Appomattox near City Point. In another they are leisurely preparing for action on the hanks of Bull Run just previous to the second battle. Here was no resemblance to the first battle of Bull Run, where Brady's initial attempts to secure views of an actual engagement resulted in his fleeing for his life and returning to New York for a new outfit. In the third picture we see Brady talking with General Burnside, while that general was preparing to cross the Rappahannock in December. 1862.

Lnpi/m/lil

PHOTOGRAPHERS AT BIXL RIN BEFORE THE SECOND B.\TTLE

bij J-'iitnol

BRADY WITH GENERAL BIRXSIDE AT HEADQUARTERS

rub.

HIS

(.'

lintngx^a^lliuij tl)^ (Etuil

Har

taking a part very different from tliat of a iion-cornhatant. In the liis bulky cameras gleamed like guns, and the Confederate marksmen thought that a batter_y was being placed in position. Thov promptly opened fire, and Brady found himself the target for a good many bullets. It was only his phenomenal good luck that allowed him to escape without injury- either to himself and men or to his apparatus. self

briglit sunsliine

clearly worth while to study for a few moments this so ready to risk his life for the idea by While the war soon developed far whieli he was obsessed. l)evond A\hat he or any other one man could possibly have compassed, so that he is probably directly resjjonsible for only It

man Brady, who was

a fraction of the whole vast collection of ]:)ictures in these vollunes, he may fairly be said to have fathered the movement; his daring and success undoubtedly stimulated and inspired the small army of men all over the war-region, whose unrelated work has been laboriously gathered together. jNlatthew V>. Brady was born at Cork, Ireland (not in New Hampshire, as is generally stated) about 1823. Arriving in Xew York as a boy, he got a job in the great establishment of A. T. Stewart, first of the merchant princes of that day. The youngster's good qualities were so conspicuous that his large-minded employer made it possible for him to take a trij) abroad at the age of fifteen, under the charge of

and

S. F. E. ]Morse, who was then laboi-ing at his epoch-making develo])ment of the telegraph. Natui-ally enough, this scientist took his young companion to the laboratory of the already famous Daguerre, A\hose arduous ex])erimeuts in making pictures by sunlight were just a])proaching fruition; and the wonderful discovery which young Brady's recej^tive eyes then beheld was destined to determine his whole life-work. For that very year (1839) Daguerre made his " daguerreotype " known to the world; and Brady's keen interest was intensified when, in 184.0, on his own side of the ocean. Professor l)raj)er produced the first photogra])hic portrait the world had yet seen, a likeness of his sister, which required the amazingly short exjiosure of on\\j tiiiieti/ seconds! Brady's natural business-sense and his mercantile training showed him the chance for a career wliich this new invention opened, and it was but a shoi't time before he had a gallery

WASHING THE NEGATIVES Photographers' Headquarters at Cold Harbor, Virginia.

— In

the

lull

before the fierce engagement which Grant

was about to meet

here in his persistent pushing forward upon Richmond, the cameraists were engaged in fixing, washing, and storing their negatives.

^^ ^

^ 1^

E H m P hj ^.

[Bk ^

1 pw^Tvs "

«o^^iHl

•-^

BEFORE SECOND BULL RUN Brady's headquarters with his

"What

Is It.^"

AT WORK IX SUMTER, APRIL,

preparing tor the

strenuous work involved in the oncoming battle.

BRADY'S "WHAT

last

1865

the besiegers were in Charleston, and the Union phutog-

raphers for the

first

time were securing views of the position.

IT?"

AT CULPEPER, VIRGINIA

— —

Itnt0ijrapl|tu9 tip (Exxni

^^^1^2=^

War

on Broadway and was well launched upon the new trade of furnishing daguerreotype portraits to all comers. He was successful from the start; in 1851 his work took a prize at the London World's Fair; about the same time he opened an office in Washington; in the fifties he brought over ^Vlexander Gardner, an expert in the new revolutionary wet-j^late process, which gave a negative furnishing many prints instead of one vniduplicatable original; and in the twenty years between his start and the Civil War he became the fashionable photographer of his day as is evidenced not only by the superb collection of notable peoj^le whose portraits he gathered together, but by Bret Harte's classic verse (from " Her Letter")

—

Well, yes if you saw us out driving 'Each day in the Park, four-in-hand If you saw poor dear mamma contriving To look supernaturally grand, If you saw papa's picture, as taken

Hy Brady, and tinted at that, You'd never suspect he sold bacon And

flour at

Poverty Flat. H-^

this sunny j^eriod of prosperity the Civil War 1861. Brady had made portraits of scores of the men who leaped into still greater prominence as leaders in the terrible struggle, and his vigorous enthusiasm saw in this fierce drama an opportunity to win ever brighter laurels. His energy and his acquaintance with men in authority overcame every obstacle, and he succeeded in interesting President Lincoln, Secretary Stanton, General Grant, and Allan Pinkerton to such an extent that he obtained the protection of the Secret Service, and permits to make photographs at the front. Everything had to be done at his own expense, but with entire confidence he equipped his men, and set out himself as well, giving instructions to guard against breakage by making two negatives of everything, and infusing into all his own ambition to astonish the world by this unheard-of feat.

Upon

broke

The need

for such permits appears in a "

home

letter

from L. T. AVhitney, a war photographer whose negatives, unfortunately, have been destroyed. This letter, dated JNIarch 13, 18(>2 states that the dav before " all photographing has

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War

Itoto^ra^ltiuiii \\}t diutl

been stopped by general orders from headquarters." Owing to ignorance of this order on the part of the guard at the bridge, ^Vhitney was allowed to reach the Army of the Potomac, where he made application to General JNIcClellan for a special pass.

,j)i[

shall get some more glimpses ])resently of these adventurous souls in action. But, as already hinted, extraordinary as were the results of Brady's impetuous vigor, he was but one of many in the great work of picturing the war. Three-fourths of the scenes with the Arm^' of the Potomac were made by Cxardner. Thomas G. Roche was an indefatigable worker in the armies' train. Captain A. J. Russell, detached as official camera-man for the War Department, obtained many invaluable pictures illustrating tlie military railroading antl construction work of the Army of the Potomac, which were hurried straightway to Secretary Stanton at ^Vashington. Sam A. Cooley was attached to the Tenth Army Corps, and recorded the happenings around Savannah, Fort INIcAllister, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Beaufort, and Charleston during the bombardment; George ^I. Barnard, under the supervision of General O. ]M. Poe (then Captain in the Engineer Corps), did yeoman's service around Atlanta. S. R. Siebert was very l)usy indeed at Charleston in 18(5.5.

Cook of Charleston, Edwards of A^ew Orleans, and other unknown men on the Confederate side, working under even "J

greater difficulties (Cook, for instance, liad to secure cals

from Anthony

New York — who

— and smuggle them through)

liis

also su])plied

chemi-

Brady

did their part in the vast lal)or: and many another unknown, including the makers of the little cartes dc visitc, contributed to the panorama which to-day unfolds itself before the reader. One most interesting camera-man of unique kind Avas A. D. Lytle, of Baton Rouge, Ijouisiana, who made a series and of views (covering three years and several campaigns consequently scattered through the present work) for the That is to say, specific use of the Confederate Secret Service. he was a " camera spy," and a good one, too. He secured his chemicals from the same great firm of Anthony & Co., in New York, but instead of running the blockade with them, they were supplied on " orders to trade." In many cases, for instance, the necessary iodides and bromides masqueraded as .

—

[ii]

Copyrvjhl

A TRir:MPH OF THE WET PLATE It

seems almost impossilile that this pliotograph could have been taken before

tograpliie apparatus, yet

exhibit in a

Mr. Gardner's negative, made ahnost

modern photographic

salon.

The view

fifty

tlie

advent of modern pho-

years ago, might well furnisli a striking

of Qiiarles' Mill,

on the North Anna River,

Virginia.

In grassy fields above the mill the tents of the headquarters of Grant and ]Meade were jjitched for a day or two during the marcli which culminated in the siege of Petersburg.

while the of a scout.

army was here

camp was a woman

She was captured astride

of a

bony steed and asserted

This wild creature, with her tangled black locks hanging the idlers of the camp. larly at the negroes,

Among

the prisoners l)rought in

clad in Confederate gray, apparently performing the duties tliat

down her

she belonged to a battery of artillery.

neck, l^ecame the center of interest to

At these she would occasionally throw stones with considerable accuracy,

who gave

lier

a wide berth.

As the

faithful

camera

particu-

indicates, the river current at this

is strong and rapid. While General Thomas L. Crittenden's division of the Federal Ninth Corps was crossing the North Anna (June 'â&#x20AC;˘24, 1864) by fording the mill-dam, many sturdy foot-soldiers as well as horsemen were swept over the falls. Howe^'er, the di\'ision got across in good fighting shape and formed

point

a line of battle around the ford on the southern the same coign of vantage.

bank

just in time to

head

off

a bold Confederate dash for

Crittenden's advance guard was hotly engaged in the woods beyond the mill

and being roughly handled when the rear of the column reached the southern bank.

I|ot09ra^l|tU9

tlri^

Oliiitl

War

quinine/ ]Mr. Ly tie's son relates that his fathei- used to signal with flag and lantern from the observation tower on the top of the ruins of the Baton Rouge capitol to Scott's Bluff, whence the messages were relayed to the Confederates near New Orleans; but he found this provided such a tempting target for the Federal sharpshooters that he discontinued the practice.

There are contemjiorary comments on the first crop of war jjhotographs which confirm several points ah-eady made. HuiiipJirci/'s Journal in October, 18G1, contained the

—

following

PHOTOGRAPHS OF WAR SERIES Among tlie portraits in Brady's selection, spoken of in our last number, are those of many leading generals and colonels ^IcClellan, McDowell, Heintzelman, Buniside, Wood, Corcoran, Slocum, and others. Of the larger groups, the most effective are those of the ami}' passing through Fairfax village, the battery of the 1st Rhode Island regiment at Camp Sprague, the 71st Regiment [New York] formed in hollow square at the Navy Yard, the Engineer Corps of the New York Twelfth at Camp Anderson, Zouaves on the lookout from the belfry of Fairfax Court House, etc., etc. Mr. Brady intends to take other photographic scenes of the localities of our army and of battle-scenes, and his collection will undoubtedly prove to be the most interesting ever yet exhibited. But whj' should he monopolize this department? We have plenty of other artists as good as he is. What a field would there be for Anthony's instantaneous views and for stereoscopic pictures. Let other artists exhibit a little of ]Mr. Brady's enterprise and furnish the public with more views. There are numerous photog-raphers close by the stirring scenes which are being daily enacted, and now is the time for them to distinguish themselves.

—

" far Brady came from " monopolizing the field. And surely the sum total of achievement is triumphant enough to share among all who had any hand in it. And now let us try to get some idea of the problem which confronted these enthusiasts, and see how they tackled it.

We have seen how

Professor Walter L. Flemhe has seen many such ordersto-trade, signed by President Lincoln, but not countersigned by Secretary

^This statement

historically confirmed.

ing, of the University of Louisiana, states

Stanton.

'a Ilk

• W////7 '

^%# r^y

pit j} thy

itu oj

A SNAPSHOT IN THE WAR REGION

Another remarkable example

of the results

achieved by the old collodion process photographers quite

indistinguishable from the instantaneous photographs of the present day. necessity of removing

and replacing the

Although taken under the

lens cap, this negative has successfully

the Federal cavalryman's horse which has been ridden to the stream for a drink. at Hazel

Run,

Virginia,

caught the waterfall and

The

picture

was taken

above the pontoon bridge constructed for the crossing of the Federal troops.

During

the advances and retreats, while the Federal armies were maneuvering for position, the photographers

were frequently at a tice

loss for material.

by making such views

as this.

At such times, true to the professional

instinct,

they kept in prac-

Less important from the strictly military viewpoint, these splendid

specimens of landscape photography give us a clear conception of the character of the country over which the Federal and Confederate armies passed and repassed during the stirring period of the war.

Itfltograplttug tli^ (Htuil

War

Imagine what it must have meant even to get to the scene of action with cumbersome tent and ap]:)aratus, and a couple of hun(h'ed glass j^lates whose breakage meant failure over unspeakable back-country roads or no roads at all; with the continual chance of being picked off by some scouting sharpshooter or captured through some shift of the armies. The first sight of the queer-looking wagon caused amazement, speculation, derision. " ^Vhat is it^" became so inevitable a greeting that to this day if one asks a groujj of soldiers about war-photogi-a])hs, they will exclaim simultaneously, "Oh, yes. the what-is-it wagon!" It became a familiar sight, yet the novelty of its awkward mystery never quite

—

;

wore

off.

Ilaving arrived, and having faced the real perils generally attendant upon reaching the scenes of keenest interest, our camera ad\'enturer was but through the overtm-e of his troubles. The most advanced ])hotograp]iy of that day was the wet-plate method, by which the plates had to be coated in the dark (which meant in this case cai'rying everywhere a smothery, light-proof tent), exposed tciihiu five minutes, and developed within five minutes more! For the benefit of amateur members of the craft here are some notes photograjjher, jNIr. George G. Rockwood:

from the veteran

First, all the plain glass plates in various sizes, usually 8 x 10,

and carried in dust-proof boxes. When ready for action, the plate was carefully coated with " collodion," which carried in solution the " excitants " bromide and iodide of potassium, or anmionia, or cadmimn. Collodion is made by the solution of guncotton in about equal parts of sulphuric ether and 95° proof alcohol. The salts above mentioned are then added, making the collodion a vehicle for ol)taining the sensitive surface on the glass plate. The coating of plates was a delicate operation even in the ordinary well-organized studio. After coating the plate with collodion and letting the ether and alcohol evaporate to just the right degree of " stickiness," it was lowered carefully into a deep " bath holder " which contained a solution of nitrate of silver about 60° for quick field-work. This operation created the sensitive condition of the plate, and had to be done in total darkness except a subdued yellow light. When properly coated (from three to five minutes) the plate was put into a '" slide " or " holder " and exposed to the action of the light in the camera. When exposed, it was returned to the dark-room and developed. had

to be carefully cleaned

—

[-H-.1

sii:33

AMFAITIE'^ Ol This photograph, taken at Brandy Station, Virginia, that orthochromatic plates were

undreamed

of in

('\M1'

an excellent example

of the skill of the

war photographers.

When we remember

the days of the Civil War, the color values of this picture are marvelous.

The collodion

worn by the officers' wives, whom we see on a visit to a permanent camp. The entrance to the tent is a fine example of the rustic work with which the Engineer Corps of the various armies amused themselves during periods which would otherwise be spent in tedious inactivity. The officers' quarters received first attention. Thus an atmosphere of indescribable charm was thrown about the permanent camps to which the wives of the officers came in their brief visits to the front, and from which they reluctantly returned without seeing anything of the gruesome side of war. A review or a parade was usually held for their entertainment. In the weary waiting before Petersburg during the siege, the successful consummawet-plate has caught the sheen and texture of the silk dresses

tion of

which practically closed the war, the

New York

engineers, while not engaged in strengthening the Federal fortifications,

themselves by constructing a number of rustic buildings of great beauty. Federal line of investment. church, a

new and

Near

,One of these was the signal tower toward the

amused

left of

the

a substantial and artistic hospital building was erected, and,_to take the place of a demolished

better rustic structure sprang into being.

l|oto9ra}jl)tng tl|^ dtutl

Har

INIr. Rockwood also knew all about Brady's wagon, having had a similar contrivance made for himself before the war, He " used an ordinary for taking pictures in the country.

delivery

wagon

of the period,

much

like the butcher's cart of

to-day and had a strong step attached at the rear and below door was put on at the back, the level of the wagon floor. carefully hung so as to be light-proof. The door, you understand, came down over the step which was boxed in at the sides, making it a sort of well within the body of the wagon rather than a true step. " The work of coating or sensitizing the plates and that of developing them was done from this well, in which there was just room enough to work. As the operator stood there the collodion was within reach of his right hand, in a special receptacle. On his left also was the holder of one of the baths. The chief developing bath was in front, with the tanks of various liquids stored in front of it again, and the space between it and the floor filled with plates. " ^Vitli such a wagon on a larger scale, large enough for men to sleep in front of the dark-room j^art, the phenomenal

Brady risked his life pictures of Brady were made possible. man}' a time in order not to sei:)arate from this cumbrous piece of impedimenta. " On exce2)tional occasions in very cold weather the life of a wet plate might be extended to nearly an hour on either side of the exposvire, the coating or the development side, but ordinarily the work had to be done within a very few minutes, and e^'ery minute of delay resulted in loss of brilliancy and depth in the negative." Some vivid glimpses of the war-photographers' troubles come also from JNlr. J. Pitcher Spencer, who knew the work

]m u

intimately

worked long with one of the foremost of Brady's men, and few to-day are doff my hat to the name of i\I. B. Brady worthy to carry his camera case, even as far as ability from the photographic standpoint goes. I was, in common with the " Cape Codders," following the ocean from 1859 to 1864; I was only home a few months 1862-63 and even then from our boys who came home invalided we heard of that grand picture-maker Brady, as they called him. When I made some views (with the only apparatus then known, the "ttct plitL"), theiL came a Ixige leilizition of some of the immense liere let

—

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THE USELESS CANAL the Engineering corps of General Benjamin F. Butler's it.

In August, ISGL Butler, with his

to save a circuit of six miles in

tlie

army then

l)end of the

this engineering feat are here seen plainly in the

photograph.

dam

at the

mouth

of this canal,

while the camera of the

Bermuda Hundred, began

James River and thus a\oid the

fleet

took Butler's

canal, exposed as they were to the fire of the Confederate batteries above.

blow up the

army paused

bottled

which the Confederates had placed to prevent the passage of the Federal

ful effort to

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up the

men

One

all

river

army photographer to dig a canal at

batteries, torpedoes,

toward Richmond.

and obstructions

The

difBculties of

the rest of the year (186-1) to cut through this

of the last acts of

and by thus admitting water

it,

General Butler was an unsuccess-

render

navigable.

surmounted by those reahze that the most sensitive of

difficulties

make

who made war-pictures. all

the

list

When you

of chemicals are requisite

must coat every plate, and that the very might carry enough " poison " across the plate being coated to make it produce a blank spot instead of some much desired effect, you may perhaps have a faint idea of the care requisite to produce a picture. JMoreover, it took unceasing care to keep every bit of the apparatus, as well as each and every chemical, free from any possible contamination which might affect the picture. Often a breath of wind, no matter how gentle, spoiled the whole affair. Often, just as some fine result looked certain, a hot streak of air would not only spoil the plate, but put the instrument out of commission, by curling some part of it out of shape. In face of these, and hundreds of minor discouragements, the men imbued with vim and forcefulness by the " Only Brady " kept right along and to-day the world can enjoy these wonderful views as a result. to

collodion, which

slightest breath

Still

further details

come from an old

soldier

and photo-

graphic expert. Mr. F. ]M. Rood:

The plate '" flowed " witli collodion was dipped at once in a bath of nitrate of silver, in water also iodized, remained there in darkness three to five minutes still in darkness, it was taken out, drained, put in the dark-holder, exposed, and developed in the dark-tent at once. The time l)ct\vcen flowing the collodion and developing should not exceed eight or ten minutes. The developer was sulphate of iron solution and acetic acid, after which came a slight wasliing and fixing (to remove the surplus silver) with solution of cyanide of potassium; and then a final washing, drying, and varnishing. The surface (wet or dry), unlike a drj' plate, could not be touched. I was all through the war from 1861â&#x20AC;&#x201D;65, in the Ninety-third New York regiment, whose pictures you have given. I recognized quite a number of the old com;

rades.

You

have also

your

collection a negative of each

company

of that regiment.

Fortunately the pictiu-e men occasionally immortalized each other as well as the combatants, so that we have a number of intimate glimpses of their life and methods. In one the wagon, chemicals and camera are in the very trenches at Atlanta, and they tell more than pages of description. But, naturally, they cannot show the arduous labor, the narrow escapes, the omnipresent obstacles which could be overcome only by the keenest ardor and determination. The epic of the war-photographer is still to be written. It woidd compare favorably with the story of many battles. And it does not 150]