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Introduction | Questions to Consider | Source | Related Links

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Confederate Dead at Gettysburg
(1863)
Alexander Gardner et al.

Introduction
The Civil War was the first conflict documented extensively by photographers, and the American people saw war in all its realism for the first time. Or did they?

Questions to Consider

1. Examine each picture carefully and answer the following questions:
   1. What are the similarities between the two pictures?
   2. What are the differences between the two pictures?
   
   
   
2. Which of the photographs is more realistic? Which is more romantic or sentimental?
   
   
3. What kind of message about the nature of war does each photograph convey? What photographic details could you offer in support of your interpretation?
   
   
4. Why do many Civil War battlefield photographs depict the aftermath of battle rather than the conflict itself?
   
   

Source




Source: "The home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, Gettysburg" In Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War (Reprint; New York : Dover Publications, Inc. 1959), plate 41.

 



Source: Civil War photographs, 1861-1865 / compiled by Hirst D. Milhollen and Donald H. Mugridge, Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1977. No. 0205

 

Related Links

• American Memory/Selected Civil War Photographs
  1861-1865 Civil War encampments, battlefields, and portraits as captured by Mathew Brady and his staff of photographers.

• Gettysburg Unofficial Visitors Guide
  Devoted to all things pertaining to the Battle of Gettysburg.

• Civil War Page
  Probably the most comprehensive gateway site on the Civil War.

• H-CIVWAR Home Page
  A searchable site of the H-Net discussion list about the culture and history of the Civil War - includes syllabi and bibliographies.

• The United States Civil War Center
  Over 1700 links to Civil War information.

• Valley of the Shadow
  Multimedia site on two communities during the Civil War.

• Civil War Diaries
  Text and links from participants from both sides of the war.

• The Unofficial Shiloh National Military Park Homepage
  Highlights include an online battlefield tour and maps.

• From Revolution to Reconstruction
  Electronic Text site with important sources for the period; includes an outline of American History.