PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE CIVIL WAR (Mark)

We traveled to Harrisonburg, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, this week.

This was very important topography during the Civil War; the battle of Cross Keys took place here on June 8, 1862. 

At one point in the battle, as the Union troops were advancing up a hill, 1,300 Confederate troops were hidden from sight in the tall grass.  When the Union troops were about 40 yards away, the Confederate troops rose up and in unison fired a volley killing over 300 Union troops in a second or two.  The humid air held the smoke close to the ground and most of the Confederate troops were unable to see to aim for a second volley.

The early battles of the War made clear to the soldiers involved the very real chance they faced of never returning home.  This had the effect of forming the letters they wrote as a way for them to be remembered, and it also created a boon for the new technology of photography.  The soldiers wanted a portrait taken so family back home would have something to remember them by.

At the Harrisonburg Quilt Museum this quilt was made acknowledging the portrait photography of the war:

Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner were originally partners, then rivals, in the photography business.  They documented the aftermath of battles, and took portraits of both famous and everyday participants of the War.  The Union army realized the importance to the soldiers of having their portraits taken, and they authorized the photography studios to travel with the troops.

Quilt artist Leslie Riley created a number of quilts dealing with the Civil War.  Cheri will be posting more about them later; I am posting on this one quilt as it really caught my attention.  It combines the importance of photography and the War.

The faces of men who fought and died preserved on the quilt:

As I looked into the eyes of the men posing for their portrait I wondered what they had seen, and what they were yet to see.

And wondered who of them made it home again.

I do not know the ages of these two, but my answer would be too young to be involved in the War.

Many young children served as drummers or camp orderlies, but many carried rifles as soon as they could hoist them.

You can read more about the photographers who took these portraits by scanning this QR code: