A case can be made that the America Civil War holds a fascination to a larger number of
Americans than any other period in our history. This premise is supported by:
• The existence of over 30,000 book titles on the subject (and more appearing weekly)
• The perpetuation of groups like the Sons of Union Veterans, The United Confederate
Veterans, and a nation-wide network of Civil War Roundtables
• Living history thriving in the form of re-enactment groups who give camp and battle
from Maine to California
• Museums that outnumber those focusing on any other period in our history
• The world’s largest group of amateur archeologists (a.k.a. metal detectors)
• And a collecting and research community that is continuously clarifying and reviving
historic knowledge by writing about the artifacts they’ve found.
I am one of these Civil War enthusiasts. Have been since I was a child, a situation exacerbated by the centennial in the early 1960’s. When we played “cowboys and Indians”, I always took
on the guise of the Civil War period soldier. For Christmas when I was 11, I got the Marx
®
The
Blue and the Gray play set. During this lifelong experience, I have found that there are basically
three kinds of “buffs”: re-enactors, academics, and collectors. Contrary to an obvious assumption,
few buffs are all three. In fact, there is wide-spread misunderstanding between many of these otherwise kindred spirits. But that’s a topic for another time.
This fascination (some would call affliction or even addiction) in the War Between the
States has often prompted others to ask the simple question of me. “Why?”. “Why are so many
people caught up in a arguably horrible war that happened so long ago?” That question can be answered by many of wonderful and legitimate theories. A few are:
• Emotional reasons of romance, chivalry, loyalty and the Lost Cause.
• Political reasons of States Rights, emancipation, and the success of the experiment
in democracy.
• Military reasons of uniforms, weaponry, tactics, and generalship.
• Poignant reasons of pathos, sacrifice, and heroism.
• Scientific reasons like the first tactical use of repeating firearms, ironclads, railroads,
telegraphs, submarines, and aerial battlefield observation.
• Personal accessibility reasons like reading a soldier’s letter, seeing an actual photograph of a soldier in his battle gear, or holding his gun, cap, or mess knife.
• Visual reasons like birth of photography, grand painted portraiture of heroes, battlefield artist’s drawings, and soldier’s personal sketches.
These last examples, the visuals, are a strong contributing reason of why I’m fascinated by
the Civil War. I find that collecting original eye-witness art is one of the most revealing categories
of Period Photography and Reaching the Masses
Photography was new but in full-bloom during the War and tens of thousands of military images survive today. The evolution of daguerreotype to
ambrotype to ferrotype to paper photographs had already happened. But one
aspect of Period photography may not be clearly understood by many today.
Photographs could not appear in print and, in fact, could not be mass produced.
Yes, paper photographs from glass negatives could be made in theoretically limitless quantities, but not in an efficient, economical way. The process of printing
individual photographs was slow and the distribution network for sales just
didn’t exist. For these reasons, engravings derived from hand drawn sketches were still the primary
way contemporary Americans saw anything about the War beyond their own family members’ single photographic images. Even the commercial offerings of Matthew Brady, E. & H. T. Anthony,
and other lesser known publisher/photographers (usually of generals, politicians and celebrities)
were not widely available (especially in the rural areas and western states) until near the War’s end.
And even then, all one could see was a rigidly posed individual or, at best, a small group. The
panoramic photographic views made by George Cook, Alexander Gardner, and Timothy
O’Sullivan, were only seen by a privileged few and actions shots were virtually non-existent.
What actually reached more Americans of the era was contemporary art. These media included: mass produced engravings, magic lantern slides, exhibited paintings, professional sketch
artists’ drawings in periodicals, soldier artists’ sketches, and book illustrations.
Mass Produced Engravings and Magic Lantern Slides
The patriotic fervor that accompanied having family men in the field led to new markets for
art during the War. Northern commercial printing enterprises like Currier and Ives, Charles Magnus, and Louis Prang & Co. printed wood block engravings of celebrities, generals, and historic events
for the general public. These crudely colored, cartoonish illustrations found their way onto patriotic
covers (mailing envelopes), ‘suitable for framing'
posters, and even trading cards. Even though the
subject matter was usually presented in a wildly inaccurate manner, these colorful, affordable souvenirs
were very popular during the War. The fact that they
were executed by men who never saw the event, the
subject, nor even the locale, makes them less interesting to the historian of today.
Period magic lantern slides were circular glass plates with photographic transfers applied
and then hand colored. They were sorted chronologically and projected to crowds for an admission
Battle of Gettysburg Currier & Ives, c. 1863
Bayoneting the Wounded, Sherman’s Battery, & The Battle of Lexington, Mo. 3” diameter glass mounted in a 4” X 7” wooden mount.and much like the twentieth century’s newsreels were. These remained popular into the 1880’s.
The earlier examples can be recognized by an artistic style similar to the contemporary engravings
and by their content. Propaganda abounded and events and generals that were hot topics early in
the War quickly became yesterday’s news (and in the case of many generals, persona non grata).
Contemporary editions showcased “battles” at places like Lexington, Belmont, Carthage, Martinsburg, Salem, and Big Bethel. These affairs became dwarfed by later events to the extent that they
became mere footnotes by subsequent historians. You will also find that those editions’ late-war
images were less inaccurate as they seemed to draw from the equivalent of today’s “file footage” to
represent an event. A case in point is in one period set, the slide labeled “Gettysburg” shows a Union unit over-running a Confederate battery; hardly an icon of that battle.
Fine Artists (Painters)
In our nation’s infancy, Americans were greatly influenced
by their European sires. The professional artists of the time worked
on commissioned pieces under the patronage system and the subject
matter was invariably either a portrait or a landscape. It was not
fashionable to paint anything else. As a result of this tradition, the
number of American history paintings by contemporary American
artists prior to the Civil War is incredibly small. The few examples
of American Revolution themed
paintings were done
on commission to
hang in public facilities. To escape
the stigma of being
something less than
legitimate, they often took on the
aspects of classical Greek, or Roman themes at the
expense of accuracy. On a more pragmatic level,
there was just no demand or market for contemporary historic art. Painters of the early nineteenth
century were not persons of social stature and the
term “starving artist” was period vernacular.
This held true up to the beginning of the Civil
War as well. Few American painters chose to paint
war subjects simply because there was no profit in it.
There had also been no system of studios or galleries
that would give professional artists an outlet for their
creations (Europe had many such enclaves and most
American painters and sculptors made a trip abroad
to study in one of them). This situation began to
change in 1857 when the Tenth Street Studio building was established in New York City and patrons
began to more actively support the arts. As the war
became a way of life, politicians began to ask for
Sheridan’s Ride, T. B. Read 1865
Burnside & Staff, L. Wagner, 1863 oil on canvas
Lt. J. B. Phillips, CSA,
oil on porcelain.
Unknown Union captain,
oil on board. Untitled by Franklin Dullin Briscoe (1844-1903). Oil on canvas, 13 X 21”, dated 1868. A Rebel courier dashes
away from Pelham’s fieldpiece at Fredericksburg(?).
paintings with themes of glory as promotions for their meeting halls, fund raisers, and political
campaigns. Painters like Thomas Buchanan Read and Albert Bierstadt took advantage of this new
patriotic fervor. Fledgling artists like Winslow Homer, Edward Lamson Henry, and Eastman Johnson found their own war experiences great subject matter in their early careers. Others like the 46
th
Virginia’s Conrad Wise Chapman, the 40
th
New York’s Robert Knox Sneden, and the 3
rd
Vermont’s
Julian Scott actually honed their early artistic careers as members of headquarters staffs whose duties required them to record terrain, buildings, fortifications, and other landmarks. They each kept
their wartime sketches as studies and converted them into paintings after the War.
Newspaper Artists (Professional Sketch Artists)
Not only was photography of the
mid nineteenth century not translatable
into print, period cameras could not capture movement. This made pictures of
soldiers in battle or even on the march
impossible. On the other hand, an artist
could edit and pose from chaos and
smoke a fully understandable tableau. So
anything that needed to be seen by many
or had an element of action was necessarily drawn by an artist, engraved by an
engraver, and printed by a printer. Alfred
and William Waud, Edwin Forbes, Frank
A Vizetelly, Walton Taber, James E. Taylor,
ssassination of Gen. Nelson, by Henry Mosler. Pencil and gouache,
6 X 9”. Shows Jefferson C. Davis’ infamous deed. Major General Butler after the Battle of September 29, 1864, gouache painting by William Waud (left). Harpers cover
(right). Waud left instructions to the engravers on the back, including the idea to add staff officers. The cap on Butlers bald
head was probably an editor’s suggestion. Note the final version is reversed as would an engraved print.
the aforementioned Winslow Homer, Henry Mosler, and Thomas Nast were a few of this new category of “battlefield artists” who were employed by periodicals like Harper’s Weekly and Frank
Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. These men were the equivalent of today’s mini-cam crews and
cameramen. They were on the spot and with the troops. Although they sometimes missed actual
events, they dutifully strived for accuracy by interviewing eyewitnesses and almost always drew at
the actual locale. Men like Alexander Simplot, an Iowan, sent in their drawings from the faraway
theater of the Trans-Mississippi. These illustrators’ creations survive today in their engraved, published forms. Original and reproduction bound and single copies of Harpers and Leslies are readily
available to collectors and historians. Occasionally, an actual sketch or even a gouache painting
turns up and often with artist’s notes to the engraver.
Artist’s note reads: “Spiking the Guns at the Upper Battery at Island No. 10 on the night on the second”. By Alexander
Simplot (1837-1914). Pencil, 7 X 12”. Details shows sailor’s raised hammer about to spike a large caliber cannon. Soldier Art
Soldiers sometimes illustrated their journals and letters with sketches of delightfully varying
skill. If they had the materials, enough time in one location, and a place to store their handiwork,
they sometimes created drawings that rivaled some of the professional correspondent’s works in
terms of insight, content, and accuracy. As importantly to today’s researchers and historians, common soldiers tended to record ‘soldier life’, a topic rich in detail and discovery (what kind of
clothing and accoutrements were they wearing, glimpses of gear, etc.)
A poignant example of the pathos that can be associated with a personal item is this sketch
of the officer’s tents of the 8
th
New York State Militia. On April 23,1861, Private Alfred D. Whitehouse was mustered into the 8
th
, also known as the Washington Grays. In June, he drew this picture
when the regiment was near Washington City preparing for the first major battle of the War. On
July 15
th
, Alfred visited the Smithsonian, mounted the institution’s scale and listed his height at 5’
8” and his weight as 141 pounds.
Twelve days later, on July 27
th
, Private Whitehouse was
severely wounded in the same right arm that he drew this picture, as the 8
th
was repulsed by Confederate General Thomas J.,
‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s counterattack. Left on the field near Bull
Run as a prisoner, the arm was amputated. Alfred Whitehouse
had done his duty and a budding artist would draw no more.
Private John F. Gisch, Company A, 24th
Alabama Infantry earned spending money during
his stay at the Rock Island Prison in Illinois by
painting water color views of the stockade. Colored infantry guards in full uniform man the walls.
This original water color is 10½″ X 14″. A similar
painting by Gisch hangs in the present day Rock
Island Arsenal Museum. An unknown Union Soldier drew “After Dress Parade” an image full of details of camp life.
Owning an original drawing “from the field” can be one of the most visceral connections a
person can make with a soldier. He spent considerable time and thought composing and completing
it and was proud to show it to his pards. The subject matter was always first-hand and meaningful
to him. It was more than a letter, it was meant to be shared and to endure.
Music, dancing, boxing, card playing, drunkenness and a rooster named
after Old Abe the War eagle. Pencil, 10 X 12”.
This view of Fredericksburg was drawn in 1863 by a member of the First Minnesota Infantry, probably Pvt. George Durfee. The Sentry in the foreground is Identified as "Chet", his brother. This detailed image uncovered new information to
Fredericksburg historians about where the First was encamped and the state of many of the buildings and bridges after the
battle of Fredericksburg. Pencil 8 X 12”.Book illustrators of the postwar era were often veterans themselves. Many such as William Henry
Shelton (1
st
NY Light Artillery),
Thomas R. Chapin (Chapin’s NJ Battery), Charles Wellington Reed (9
th
Massachusetts Artillery) and John D.
Woodward (William’s Kentucky
Light Artillery, Confederate) joined a
large group of artists that contributed
to seminal 1880’s illustrated works
such as Century Magazine, Battles
and Leaders of the Civil War, The
Confederate Solider in the Civil War,
and Campfire and Battlefield.
Books such as John D. Billings’ Hardtack and Coffee, Warren
Lee Goss’ Recollections of a Private,
Wilbur Hinman’s Corporal Si Klegg
and his Pard and George Peck’s How
Private Peck Put Down the Rebellion.
are some of the most popular books
on the War to this day because of the
revealing combination of details on
daily minutia and supporting illustrations.
Collections of these original
drawings have been recovered from
the archives of the book publishers and the opportunity to own and examine them is not uncommon.
Vicksburg, April 15, 1863, James E. Taylor, 1888, top. As engraved in The
Confederate Soldier in the Civil War, bottom.
John R. Chapin (far
left) created this
Gouache painting of
Pickett’s charge and
the copse of trees at
Gettysburg. Chapin’s own battery
didn’t arrive in time
for this event, but he
undoubtedly observed the field
immediately afterward.In the 1880’s, a new market of aging veterans inspired publishing companies such as Prang
and Kurz and Allison to produce high quality chromolithographs that immortalized historic events
of the War. The latter company’s examples are easily identifiable as all of the combatants in the
battle scenes are impeccably dressed in matching uniforms on both sides. Prang’s were much more
accurate and were commissioned by known, accomplished contract artists. These are widely reprinted and both originals and reprints are readily available to collectors.
The Artists
The men who served and drew at the front were a romantic lot and learning about their lives
can be an interesting and rewarding journey. For instance, you may have noticed that an unusual
number of the soldier artists listed here were artillerists. An argument can be made that this was
influenced by two facts: 1) the batteries were often made up of educated (and therefore cultured)
college men and 2) they had battery wagons to hold and preserve their supplies and creations.
It is also interesting to note that two well known and acclaimed artists, Julian Scott and
Charles Wellington Reed, were Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Scott was a 16 yearold fifer at the time. Their citations read:
SCOTT, JULIAN A.
Rank and organization: Drummer, Company E, 3d Vermont Infantry. Place and date.
At Lees Mills, Va., 16 April 1862. Entered service at. Johnson, Vt. Birth: Johnson, Vt.
Date of issue: February 1865. Citation: Crossed the creek under a terrific fire of musketry several times to assist in bringing off the wounded.
REED, CHARLES W.
Rank and organization: Bugler, 9th Independent Battery, Massachusetts Light Artillery. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 2 July 1863. Entered service at: ----.
Birth: Charlestown, Mass. Date of issue: 16 August 1895. Citation: Rescued his
wounded captain from between the lines.
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