| National Museum of American History

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; When fatigued by long exercise in the saddle, over bottomless roads, or under the glowing Southern sun, John's master would propound the query, "What do I want, John Henry?" that affectionate creature would at once produce the demijohn of "Commissary," as the only appropriate prescription for the occasion that his untutored nature could suggest.; A legend was current at headquarters that J. H. had been discovered hanging by his heels to a persimmon tree. It is needless to state that this was a libel, originating in a scurrilous picture of that African, drawn by a special artist. In point of fact, he came into notice at Harrison's Landing, in the summer of 1862. An officer's hat blew off; John raised it, and with a grin (which alarmed the Captain, lest he should be held responsible if the head should fall off), politely handed it up. The rare intelligence exhibited in this act naturally made a deep impression, and suggested an unusual capacity for the care of boots and other attentions, seldom rendered, although occasionally expected of camp servants. "Would you like to take service with me?" said the Captain. "Yees, sir," answered John. "Then follow me to camp." "I can't keep up, sir." "Catch hold of the horse's tail, then." In short, John Henry was installed body servant to Captain H, quartermaster of headquarters, and took his position as an unmistakable character.; Although his head resembled an egg, set up at an angle of forty-five degrees, small end on top, yet his moral and intellectual acquirements were by no means common. His appreciation of Bible history was shown on many occasions. For instance, he always considered Moses the most remarkable of quartermasters, in that he crossed the Red Sea without pontoons, and conducted the children of Israel forty years through the desert without a wagon train.; With wisdom such as this he would enlighten his sable compeers. Meanwhile, the Captain became a Colonel. Richmond was evacuated, and John Henry became a resident of the rebel capital. Here freedom burst upon him in a new light; he formed new associations – principally with the other sex – to raise whose spirits he would appropriate his employer's. As his mind expanded, boots became monotonous, manual labor distasteful, and a dissolution of partnership inevitable. The Colonel went to another scene of duty. John Henry remained, whether owing to inducements offered by the Provisional Government is not yet definitely known.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-11

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.27
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.27

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Wood & Gibson, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; At Cumberland Landing, one of the most magnificent spectacles ever seen in the army was presented, when the combined forces, massed upon the bank of the river, converted the barren fields, as if by magic, into an immense city of tents. From the hill above Toner's house the scene was truly grand. Division after division, closely compacted, they stretched away, until, in the distance, the white tents were mere specks against the dark frame of woods. On one side the slow Pamunkey, like a mirror, reflected the immense fleet of transports, with their convoy of gunboats. Winding among the tents, long strings of animals were continually passing to drink of its brackish waters. Along the shore piers formed of barges, side by side, were thronged by commissaries and their assistants, while strong arms rapidly discharged the cargoes of meat and bread into the waiting wagons. Prominent in the picture was the camp of General McClellan's headquarters, which had just narrowly escaped capture, through taking, a wrong direction. Another striking object was the park of the pontoon boats drawn through the bottomless roads of the lower peninsula, with so much labor.; Our picture, interesting as it is, gives but a small portion of the gorgeous whole. The prominent object is a mud-bespattered forge, the knapsacks and blankets of the farriers carelessly thrown on the ground beneath. In the middle-ground are some mules picketed around the wagons, hard-working, much-abused creatures, and so humorous in their antics that they were often termed the comedians of the army. Farther on, a guard, their muskets stacked and knapsacks laying around. Past these, a cook sitting on a mess chest, close to the ashes of his fire, near which are the camp-kettles and a pile of firewood. On the edge of the wood the Fifth New York Volunteers, Warren's Zouaves, have encamped, and in front of them a regiment of infantry are drawn up in column of companies. As these are formed in open order, it is most likely that they are on inspection drill. Such pictures carry one into the very life of camp, and are particularly interesting now that that life has almost passed away.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-05

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.16
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.16

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; Slowly, over the misty fields of Gettysburg – as all reluctant to expose their ghastly horrors to the light – came the sunless morn, after the retreat by Lee's broken army. Through the shadowy vapors, it was, indeed, a "harvest of death" that was presented; hundreds and thousands of torn Union and rebel soldiers – although many of the former were already interred – strewed the now quiet fighting ground, soaked by the rain, which for two days had drenched the country with its fitful showers.; A battle has been often the subject of elaborate description; but it can be described in one simple word, devilish! and the distorted dead recall the ancient legends of men torn in pieces by the savage wantonness of fiends. Swept down without preparation, the shattered bodies fall in all conceivable positions. The rebels represented in the photograph are without shoes. These were always removed from the feet of the dead on account of the pressing need of the survivors. The pockets turned inside out also show that appropriation did not cease with the coverings of the feet. Around is scattered the litter of the battle-field, accoutrements, ammunition, rags, cups and canteens, crackers, haversacks, &c., and letters that may tell the name of the owner, although the majority will surely be buried unknown by strangers, and in a strange land. Killed in the frantic efforts to break the steady lines of an army of patriots, whose heroism only excelled theirs in motive, they paid with life the price of their treason, and when the wicked strife was finished, found nameless graves, far from home and kindred.; Such a picture conveys a useful moral: It shows the blank horror and reality of war, in opposition to its pageantry. Here are the dreadful details! Let them aid in preventing such another calamity falling upon the nation.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-07

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.36
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.36

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; On the 1st of October, 1862, two weeks after the battle of Antietam, President Lincoln visited the Army of the Potomac, encamped near Harper's Ferry, in Maryland. He was accompanied on his trip by Major General McClernand and Staff, Colonel Lamon, the Marshal of the District of Columbia, and Mr. Garrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The President reached General Sumner's headquarters, on Bolivar Heights, at Harper's Ferry, on Wednesday, occupied the afternoon in reviewing the forces at that position, and spent the night at General Sumner's quarters. On Thursday morning he recrossed the Potomac, and was met by General McClellan and Staff, who conducted him during that and the following day over the scenes of the recent battle, and in reviewing the various Corps and Divisions of the Army, extending over a space of several miles. The evening and night of Thursday and Friday the President spent at General McClellan's quarters, occupying much of the time in private conversation with him. In this conversation, it is said, that when the President alluded to the complaints that were being made of the slowness of the General's movements, General McClellan replied, "You may find those who will go faster than I, Mr. President; but it is very doubtful if you will find many who will go further."; On Saturday, the President set out on his return home, accompanied by General McClellan as far as Middletown, but on the way, riding over the battle-field of South Mountain, the leading incidents of which, the scenes of particularly desparate conflicts, the names of the Corps and officers engaged, &c., were pointed out and described by the General, as he had previously done those of the great battle of Antietam; in all of which the President evinced a deep interest. The President then proceeded to Frederick, where he was received by the people with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of respect, and reached Washington in a special train at ten o'clock at night.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-10

depicted: Lincoln, Abraham
maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.23
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.23

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.Two of the pontoon bridges used at the battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862, are shown in this sketch.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; Two of the pontoon bridges used at the battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862, are shown in this sketch. On the 11th and 12th of that month, the left wing of the army, under the command of Gen. Franklin, and composed of the First and Sixth Corps, crossed at this point, one and a half miles below the city, and went into position on the flats in front; the First Corps on the extreme left, with its right extending towards the hills, and the Sixth Corps nearly at right angles to the former, with its right reaching to the outskirts of Fredericksburg. The remainder of the army was formed through the city, extending about one mile above the town, and assaulted the heights. On the 13th the engagement opened on the field represented here, by Gen. Meade's division, which carried the enemy's position to a certain extent. Gen. Gibbon's division was pushed in on Meade's right to support him, and Gen. Doubleday's division on the left with the same purpose, but a strong demonstration made on that portion of the line by the enemy with artillery and cavalry, rendered it necessary to throw the whole of Doubleday's command against them.; Meade held his position in the woods for some time, but not receiving additional support, was forced by a fierce attack in front to retire. Our forces having been driven from the woods, and it being late in the day, no other attack was made on this portion of the line, the troops remaining in entrenchments hastily thrown up across the plain, until recalled to this side of the river on the night of the 15th. There were seventeen thousand men engaged at this point, with thirty-eight thousand supporting them, but who were not brought into action in consequence of a misinterpretation of the orders of Gen. Burnside, commanding the army. Gen. Bayard, of the Cavalry, was killed by a shell in the edge of the little grove represented in the sketch. Pontoons were again laid at this point in June, 1863, and a body of troops thrown across the river to ascertain the movements of the enemy, who was found to have abandoned Fredericksburg, and to be marching towards the Blue Ridge, for the purpose of invading Pennsylvania.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-05

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.32
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.32

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by David B.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by David B. Woodbury, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; Otherwise known by the name of its builder, and marked on the map, "Woodbury's Bridge." The picture is taken at a point where the accumulated waters most presented the character of a stream, the swamp being in some places all of a mile in width, and supporting on its treacherous surface a luxuriant growth. In the depths of this morass, the home of almost every variety of Virginia reptiles, the soldiers worked several weeks, constructing the causeways known as New, Duane's, Sumner's – Upper and Lower – Bottom's, and Railroad Bridges. The cutting of dams above, and heavy rains, stopped the workmen a number of times, and destroyed their labor, by converting the whole valley into a broad lake, whose waters, pressing through the length of the swamp carried everything irresistibly before them. In this way, during the battle of Fair Oaks, Sumner's troops had barely passed over, when the rapidly accumulated waters of the river carried away the bridge; and it was claimed by the engineers that the weight of the men in crossing kept it in its place. If, in that fight, our troops had been defeated, the limited facilities of re-crossing the Chickahominy would probably have led to the capture of the greater portion of the corps. The Grape Vine Bridge was so called for its tortuous course through the swamp. Its construction was necessarily rude, as rough, unhewn, and twisted logs formed the material. Down in the woods, the air seemed to be suffocating with stagnation, while beneath the pall of mist, an immense orchestra of double-bags bull frogs kept up a continual din, which at night drowned the rumble of the wagons over the corduroys.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.17
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.17

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; To the hero of Antietam belongs the credit of first developing and fully appreciating the value of a corps of signalists to an army throughout its active operations in the field, and especially during a great battle. His signal officers were most intelligently and advantageously posted, and seldom, even in later campaigns, has their assistance to a commanding general been more valuable, or more frankly and handsomely acknowledged, than in the momentous struggle on the Antietam. At intervals along our line of battle, and on the most prominent points in the vicinity, were stationed the Federal Signal Officers, detecting by their skill, vigilance, and powerful glasses, every movement of the enemy, reporting them instantly by a few waves of their flags to the Union Commander, and in return, transmitting by the same means the orders to the subordinate generals, which were to check or defeat the manoeuvres of the enemy. The adjoining sketch represents the most important of those signal look-outs, and was located on the summit of Elk Mountain, one of the South Mountain Range of the Blue Ridge, and overlooking the battle-field.; The Elk Mountain Signal Station was operated by Lieutenants Pierce and Jerome, and the view was taken whilst the former officer was receiving a dispatch from General McClellan, probably requesting further information in regard to some reported movement of his wary foe, or sending an important order to a Corps Commander.; A rebel correspondent of a Richmond paper, who claims to have been an eye-witness of that battle, thus writes on the succeeding day, of the part taken in it by the Signal Corps of the Union Army: "Their signal stations on the Blue Ridge commanded a view of our every movement. We could not make a maneuver in front or rear that was not instantly revealed to their keen look-outs; and as soon as the intelligence could be communicated to their batteries below, shot and shell were launched against the moving columns. It was this information, conveyed by the little flags upon the mountain-top, that no doubt enabled the enemy to concentrate his force against our weakest points, and counteract the effect of whatever similar movements may have been attempted by us."
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-09

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.22
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.22

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; In June, 1863, the Sixth Corps made its third successful crossing of the Rappahannock, storming the works that defended the passage, and making prisoners of the garrison. Battery D at once took position, with other artillery of the Sixth Corps, out in the fields, near the ruins of the Mansfield House, where Gen. Bayard was killed, at the time of the first crossing by General Burnside in 1862. This picture was made as the guns were engaging the enemy, the gunners who had just received the order, "cannoniers to your posts," calling to the photographer to hurry his wagon out of the way, unless he was anxious to figure in the list of casualties. In line to the rear of the Battery, is the Veteran Vermont Brigade, acting as a support. Further still, is the bank of the river, skirted by the trees; those to the right being a grove of white poplars around the Mansfield House. With characteristic coolness some of the troops had already pitched their little shelter tents, and were sleeping beneath their frail cover. Better protection was soon afforded by the fine line of earthworks which soon sprung into existence, embrasured for the artillery, and impregnable to attack when lined by the heroes of the Sixth Corps, nobly commanded, as it has always been, by such Generals as Franklin – who organized it – Sedgwick, and Wright.; This Battery was present at the first battle of Bull Run, where the enemy got a taste of its mettle, while attempting to turn our extreme left, and fall upon the rear of the army. On the organization of Franklin's Division, its commander, Captain – now Colonel – Platt, was made chief of a brigade of artillery in that organization, and Lieutenant, since General, Upton succeeded to the command. Under the latter officer the Battery gained much commendation, and on his promotion to the command of a New York regiment of volunteers, continued its glorious career under Lieut. Williston, being finally transformed into a horse battery, and ordered to the cavalry, where it remained to the close of the war, without ever losing a gun, although the list of its actions was so long that its battle-flag had no space to transcribe them upon.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.31
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.31

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.A portion of the battle-field of Gettysburg, located in front of Little Round Top, is known as the Slaughter Pen.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; A portion of the battle-field of Gettysburg, located in front of Little Round Top, is known as the Slaughter Pen. Upon the conclusion of that engagement, the ground was found in many places to be almost covered with the dead and wounded. This sketch only represents a few of the dead, the wounded having been removed to the hospitals. Gen. Crawford, commanding the Third Division of the Fifth Corps, was placed near this ravine, on the second day of the fight, to support Barnes' Division, and the scenes which transpired cannot be better described than in his own words before the Committee on the Conduct of the War. He says: "I heard the cheers of the enemy, and looking in front across a low ground, I saw our men retreating in confusion; fugitives were flying across in every direction; some of them rushed through my lines. The plain in front was covered with the flying men. The regular division had marched out past my left flank. A wheat field lay between two masses of woods directly in my front. A stone wall skirted these woods from right to left. The enemy, in masses, were coming across this wheat field, having driven everything before them. Their line of skirmishers had crossed the stone wall, and their column was coming across the low ground towards the hills upon which we stood. I ordered an immediate charge upon the enemy by the whole division.; The division moved forward at once: Two volleys were fired, when the whole command started at a double-quick. We met the enemy in the low ground, drove them back to the stone wall, for the possession of which there was a short struggle, and at which two regiments which had been massed on the flanks of the line, were deployed, drove the enemy through the woods, and over the wheat field, to the ridge beyond. The line was there permanently established." On Friday afternoon, he was ordered to clear the woods in his front, and of that movement says: "I directed the command at once to advance. Hardly had the men unmasked from the hill before a battery of the enemy, stationed on a ridge beyond the wheat field opened, with grape and canister. As soon as the skirmishers opened fire on the cannoniers, the battery limbered up and fled. I then formed a line, and directed it to cross the wheat field and clear the woods. In doing this, they came upon a brigade of Hood's division, under Gen. Anderson or Gen. Bonham, composed of Georgia troops; they attacked them, capturing 260 prisoners, the battle-flag of the 15th Georgia, re-taking nearly all the ground that had been lost, and over 7,000 stand of arms, besides one 12-pound Napoleon gun and three caissons, and all the wounded, who had lain entirely uncared for. We permanently held that line. Hood's division was driven off nearly a mile."
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-07

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.44
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.44

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; One of the first operations of the war (upon the Potomac) was the destruction of the wharf and depot of the Fredericksburg and Richmond Railroad at Aquia Creek, done by a small flotilla under command of Capt. Ward, U. S. N., whose flag-ship was a N. Y. towboat, turned into a gunboat, and called the Freeborn. The buildings were fired by shells, the enemy keeping up a lively fire also from a battery upon the hill and a small redoubt on the shore.; When the rebels gave up the blockade of the Potomac, quite a chain of works existed here. In the winter of 1862 it became the base of supplies for the army at Falmouth; the wharf was rebuilt, greatly enlarged and improved, and quite a town of hastily but well-constructed buildings put up; among them, and close upon the railroad track, the Provost Marshal's Office. To this office came daily crowds of applicants for passes; officers on welcome leave of absence; soldiers with hard-earned furloughs; sutlers and their clerks; negroes, anxious to get up to Washington to spend the generous wages (twenty-five dollars a month, besides rations and quarters) paid by the Quartermaster's Department; all kinds of petty traders; visitors to the army; friends seeking the bodies of relatives slain in battle, or lying in hospital grave-yard, for removal; sick and wounded for hospital treatment; and last, though not least, ubiquitous members of the press, constantly going up or down. Soldiers or citizens who had business with the army in those days will not readily forget how limited was the time between the arrival of the long train of cars from the front and the departure of the Washington boat; nor how often, after successfully elbowing a way in the motley crowd, and getting the pass vised, the end of the dock would be only reached in time to see the steamer moving swiftly down the creek to the Potomac. On such occasions two alternatives were open; to go back to the front till next morning, or remain and study character on the wharf, boarding at the sutler's, and trusting to luck for a bed. As an instance of the variety of character, the writer has seen upon that dock, not only specimens of almost every European race, Africans and-Indians, but Chinamen, dressed in army blue, and to all appearance good soldiers.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-02

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.46
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.46

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Wood & Gibson, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.This represents one of the batteries planted for the bombardment of Yorktown.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Wood & Gibson, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; This represents one of the batteries planted for the bombardment of Yorktown. In places subjected to mortar fire, the men construct bomb proofs, and place a sentinel on the watch, to give warning of the approach of a shell, and enable every man to seek shelter till the explosion of the missile. If the bombardment is continuous, the troops remain under cover, unless absolutely required to man the works, The mortars of Battery No. 4 were of thirteen inch caliber, and required great labor to place them in position. As the fire of mortars is entirely a work of calculation, it is not necessary for the gunners to see the object against which the shells are directed, and accounts for the position of this Battery under the high bank.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-05

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.14
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.14

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.Cemetery Ridge was the scene of some of the severest fighting at Gettysburg.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; Cemetery Ridge was the scene of some of the severest fighting at Gettysburg. The knoll shown in the sketch is that upon which the last assault of the enemy was made, and on which is situated the National Soldiers' Cemetery. The original cemetery was a very handsome enclosure, and contained many elegant monuments, very few of which were injured, notwithstanding the terrible nature of the conflict. The shrubbery was badly broken, and the fence swept away, but at the conclusion of the fight there still remained, as if in mockery, the notice, "All persons found using fire-arms in these grounds will be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law." The third day's fight was in front of this spot, and was commenced about one o'clock in the afternoon by the enemy opening a cannonade from 120 pieces of artillery on the front of the line connecting Cemetery Ridge with Round Top. Gen. Hancock, in one of his reports, says: "That cannonade continued for probably an hour and a half. The enemy then made an assault at the end of that time; it was a very formidable assault, and made, I should judge, with about 18,000 infantry. When the columns of the enemy appeared, it looked as if they were going to attack the centre of our line, but after marching straight out a little distance they seemed to incline a little to their left, as if their object was to march through my command and seize Cemetery Hill, which, I have no doubt, was their intention.; They attacked with wonderful spirit; nothing could have been more spirited. The shock of the assault fell upon the Second and Third Divisions of the Second Corps, and these were the troops, assisted by a small brigade of Vermont troops, together with the artillery of our line, which fired from Round Top to Cemetery Hill at the enemy, all the way, as they advanced, whenever they had the opportunity. Those were the troops that really met the assault. No doubt there were other troops that fired a little, but those were the troops that really withstood the shock of the assault and repulsed it. The attack of the enemy was met by about six small brigades of our troops, and was finally repulsed after a terrific contest at very close quarters, in which our troops took about thirty or forty colors, and some four thousand or five thousand prisoners, with great loss to the enemy in killed and wounded. The repulse was a most signal one, and that decided the battle, and was practically the end of the fight." Here President Lincoln attended the consecration of the Soldiers' National Monument, erected to the memory of the heroic men who fell in that struggle. The shattered trees and crushed flowers have all been replaced by others, whose beauty and fragrance we may confidently hope shall never be again blasted by war.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-07

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.39
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.39

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.These were a batch of rebel cavalrymen, captured in the battle of Aldie, by the troops under Gen. Pleasanton.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; These were a batch of rebel cavalrymen, captured in the battle of Aldie, by the troops under Gen. Pleasanton. The majority of them are dressed in the dusty grey jacket and trousers, and drab felt hat usually worn by the rebel cavalry; some, however, show no change from the ordinary clothes of a civilian, being probably recruits or conscripts, although their appearance laid them open to the charge (often made during the war) of being irregulars, out for a day's amusement, with their friends in the cavalry, as one might go off for a day's shooting. The fight in which they were taken, was hotly contested, and took place at the foot of the upper end of the Bull Run range of hills, in Loudoun County, in and around the village of Aldie. The rebels were driven, and our cavalry left masters of the field – not without serious loss to our side, as well as to the enemy – a day or two after, Pleasanton attacked and drove them fifteen miles across the country, to the refuge of the Blue Ridge. Generals Buford and Gregg, ably leading their divisions in the fight.; The country around Aldie is very charming, very much diversified with hill, wood and valley, fine farms, pretty brooks – with stone bridges – and beyond all, the noble chain of the Blue Ridge, dividing Loudoun from the Shenandoah Valley.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-06

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.34
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.34

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; On the Warrenton Railroad, is a spot known as Three Mile Station; there are no depot buildings, but for all that it is recognized as a stopping place, and is the nearest place to Dr. Murray's house, called the Castle, a picturesque grey stone edifice, beautifully contrasting with the dark green ivy, which has partly overgrown it, and situated in a grove, on an eminence, known as Rockhill. Not far from it is the residence of Col. Murray, a much older place, with no pretensions to architecture, but withal a roomy, comfortable farm house, with many fine trees around it. In the Fall of 1863, Army Headquarters were pitched, for some days, on the pleasant slopes, near the latter house; at the same time, Gen. Pleasanton, commanding the cavalry, had his camp on Rockhill, his tents forming, with Castle Murray, a very effective picture; heightened, when of an evening the slanting sun, beaming through the trees, gilded the General's banner, and tinged rosily the canvas homes. At night, the green lamps, that showed the position of the General's camp, would shine mysteriously over the trees, and the band of the Sixth U. S. Cavalry would make the stone walls ring to its martial music.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-11

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.47
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.47

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by James Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.Each corps, division, and brigade of the army, when encamped for any length of time, established a Field Hospital.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by James Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; Each corps, division, and brigade of the army, when encamped for any length of time, established a Field Hospital. The one represented here was located in the woods, near Brandy Station, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, in the winter of 1863 and 1864. The patients were composed of men suffering from the diseases incident to camp life, and were rendered as comfortable here as those in the city hospitals. Large stoves were placed in each tent, and good fires kept up day and night. Floors were laid to protect the sick from the dampness of the earth, blankets were furnished in the greatest abundance, and every attention was shown the patients by experienced surgeons, while the Sanitary and Christian Commissions provided linen, delicacies, and a variety of reading matter. Some of the hospitals were surrounded by high cedar hedges, constructed by the attendants and convalescents, and were models of architectural beauty. Arches were erected over the entrances to the camp, and adorned with the badges of the respective divisions and brigades, and rustic seats placed on the south side of the tents, where the men whiled away many an hour in the sunshine. The trinkets cut from soft pine by the men were of every variety, and very curious. Elegant picture frames were made of small slips ingeniously interlaced, and were sold for large sums; the most elaborate realizing for their makers from fifty to one hundred dollars.; The dead were always buried with military honors, and there were very few instances where the graves thus made were left without some appropriate memorial. There was a brotherhood among the patients akin to domestic love. Those who endured the sufferings of the Camp Hospital unconsciously learned to care for each other's welfare, and many now look back to the weary days of hospital life as the beginning of friendships which time cannot weaken nor adversity estrange.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1864-02

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0283.04
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0283.04

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; "Cigars and cognac, with these we bivouac," says the old song, but as Cognac was, in the army, a questionable fluid, to say the least of it, and scarce at that, the lounger in the grass wisely contented himself with the pleasures of the weed. His good war-steed, in condition highly creditable to the groom, patiently accepts the opportunity to rest, evidently affording an object of critical admiration to his master, whose orderly meanwhile keeps an eye about the vicinity. There is nothing particular in the picture to account for this little halt, but those who recognize the officer, may possibly give a shrewd guess at his reasons. He is the Quartermaster of the Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, and has doubtless ridden forward to the position selected for camp, to examine its capabilities, and await the arrival of his wagon-train, in order to personally superintend the pitching of the tents, and the parking of the wagons.; To still further satisfy curiosity, it may be mentioned that the reclining officer is Captain Harry Page, since Colonel and Chief Quartermaster of the Cavalry Corps, one of the most arduous posts of duty in the service, and one whose necessities during the severe campaigns up the Shenandoah Valley, and in the vicinity of Richmond, kept the young Colonel always upon his mettle.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1864-05

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.50
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.50

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.A group at the headquarters, near Fairfax Court-House, taken in June, 1863.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; A group at the headquarters, near Fairfax Court-House, taken in June, 1863. Thoughtful and erect, the most prominent figure is Colonel Ulric Dahigren, then a Captain on the Staff of General Meade. Handsome, chivalric, one of the bravest of the brave, his character was fitly compared to that of the good knight, the Chevalier Bayard, and like him, he was truly "sans peur et sans reproche." So noble a man, that of all the heroes who have perished for the nation, his loss is the hardest to realize. The story of his short but brilliant career has been written by abler hands, and is now a "household word." Of its closing scenes, the writer narrowly escaped being a witness, having been invited to accompany the Colonel on that ill-starred expedition by which his life was sacrificed. Just recovering from the loss of his leg, and suffering acutely from any physical exertion, his active spirit could not be controlled, when he thought of his brothers in arms pining under the cruelties of Libby and Belle Isle. No ruthless raid was his, but a Christian effort to help the despairing Union Prisoners. None, who knew him, need be told how false was the document, claimed to have been found upon his person. General Meade, suspecting his inability to undergo the fatigues of an expedition in the inclement weather of February, was disinclined to give him permission; but Dahlgren, determined on his purpose, mounted his horse, and proceeding to a review of the Second Corps, rode so fearlessly over the fields, and under his frank smile, so well hid all traces of bodily suffering, that the General reluctantly permitted him to depart. After the review, when he came over (for the retirement it offered) to the writer's tent, it was too evident how fearful had been the effort of his will.; The officer upon the ground, wearing a straw hat, is Lieutenant-Colonel Dickinson, Assistant Adjutant General to General Hooker a position he held from the time that General first commanded a brigade, until the battle of Gettysburg. In that action the Colonel was hit in the arm with a link of a chain, thrown with other misiles from a rebel shell. On the recovery of his wound he retired from the service, The gentleman in foreign uniform is Count Zeppelin, of the Prussian army, then on a visit to this country. On the left is the figure of Major Ludlow, since better known as the General in Command of the Colored Brigade, which excavated, under a continual and heavy fire, the canal on the James, called Dutch Gap. The perils of that undertaking he faithfully shared, from first to last, doing much, by his cheerful bearing and example, to support his troops in their perilous work. The last of the group is Lieutenant (since Lieutenant Colonel) Rosencranz, a Swedish officer, on leave of absence, and occupying successively the position of Personal Aid upon the Staff of Generals McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, and Meade. A very reliable soldier, and one of the best Aids on the Staff, his genial disposition, unfailing amiability, and keen appreciation of humor, made him acceptable everywhere. He was probably as well known as any officer in the field.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-07

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.45
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.45

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.Berlin is a quiet little village on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, twelve miles from Point of Rocks.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; Berlin is a quiet little village on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, twelve miles from Point of Rocks. A fine bridge connected it with the Virginia shore until June, 1861, when the Confederates sacrificed it to the spirit of destruction that ruined Harper's Ferry and laid waste the pleasant places of the border. Its inhabitants, numbering about five hundred, are dependent principally for support upon the business of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which passes the place, and during the war, from the interruption of navigation necessarily suffered much hardship. The bivouac of the Army of the Potomac in its vicinity in 1862 first introduced its name to the country, and it has fallen again into the partial oblivion that has hidden much more pretentious villages. Here McClellan had his headquarters after the battle of Antietam, and the troops crossed into Virginia, marching down through London to Rectortown and Warrenton, and thence to Fredericksburg.; The Photograph only shows the village and a small portion of the Maryland shore, from which no adequate impression can be formed of the beauty of the surrounding scenery. The river at this point is obstructed by scattered rocks, and with the wooded hills that slope precipitously to the water's edge, forms one of the most charming pictures of the Potomac. Game and fish abound, many objects of interest are close at hand, and the summer fugitive from the ills of city life finds here a pleasant halting place in his journeyings for recreation.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-11

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.25
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.25

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; The sketch represents a portion of the breastworks on the left of our line at Gettysburg, occupied by the Fifth and Sixth Corps, and against which, in the second day's fight, the Confederates under Longstreet repeatedly and so impetuously dashed. This position is on a steep ridge known as Little Round Top, on which was stationed General Warren, Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, with a signal officer, for the purpose of communicating to the commanding General the movements of the enemy. In front and to the left open fields stretched away, with here and there a small grove, which afforded shelter to sharpshooters, who annoyed our officers at the signal station excessively. Sickles, with the Third Corps, had opened the fight in the afternoon, considerably advanced in front of this position, with his left exposed, and the approach to the ridge entirely open to a flank movement. While the battle was raging fiercest in front, Longstreet, with fifteen thousand men, suddenly emerged from the woods into the open fields on our flank, and moved rapidly down upon Round Top, the occupation of which must inevitably have resulted in our defeat.; General Warren sent an aid to General Meade for a corps from the right, but the commanding General could not be found. A second staff officer was sent down to Sickles for some of his troops, but he could spare none, and another officer was hurried off to bring up any command that could he found, while the enemy still pressed nearer, threatening to overwhelm us. Sickles' left was turned, his Corps pressed slowly back, and the Confederates commenced clambering up the rocky sides of the ridge, when the tramp of the Fifth Corps, on the double quick, was suddenly heard coming up through the woods to the rescue, and in a moment our colors flashed out from the foliage. Both armies reached the crest at the same time, the battle opened like a thunder-clap, and raged with terrific fierceness. After the first volley, our whole line charged with the bayonet, struggled with the enemy for a moment breast to breast, and then, with shouts and cheers, drove him in disorder down the slope to the shelter of the groves and stonewalls in the fields. Breastworks of stones and timber, shattered by the shells, were instantaneously thrown up, and after a brief interval the fight was renewed. Each change in the lines, by the fluctuations of battle, was marked by defenses of stone, our troops never neglecting thus to protect themselves from the withering fire of the enemy. When night closed upon the field, these breastworks were stretched along like winrows marking the shifting tide of the struggle, between which the dead lay in countless numbers, and to-day the visitor traces by them, the steps of our advancing lines, which, though frequently repulsed, finally rested in triumph at the front.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-07

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.38
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.38

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; A burial party, searching for dead on the borders of the Gettysburg battle-field, found, in a secluded spot, a sharpshooter lying as he fell when struck by the bullet. His cap and gun were evidently thrown behind him by the violence of the shock, and the blanker [sic], partly shown, indicates that he had selected this as a permanent position from which to annoy the enemy. How many skeletons of such men are bleaching to-day in out of the way places no one can tell. Now and then the visitor to a battle-field finds the bones of some man shot as this one was, but there are hundreds that will never be known of, and will moulder into nothingness among the rocks. There were several regiments of Sharpshooters employed on both sides during the war, and many distinguished officers lost their lives at the hands of the riflemen. The first regiment was composed of men selected from each of the Loyal States, who brought their own rifles, and could snuff a candle at a hundred yards. Some of the regiments tried almost every variety of arms, but generally found the Western rifle most effective.; The men were seldom used in line, but were taken to the front and allowed to choose their own positions. Some climbed into bushy trees, and lashed themselves to the branches to avoid falling if wounded. Others secreted themselves behind logs and rocks, and not a few dug little pits, into which they crept, lying close to the ground and rendering it almost impossible for an enemy to hit them. Occasionally a Federal and Confederate Sharpshooter would be brought face to face, when each would resort to every artifice to kill the other. Hats would be elevated upon sticks, and powder flashed on a piece of paper, to draw the opponent's fire, not always with success, however, and sometimes many hours would elapse before either party could get a favorable shot. When the armies were entrenched, as at Vicksburg and Richmond, the sharpshooters frequently secreted themselves so as to defy discovery, and picked off officers without the Confederate riflemen being able to return the fire.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-07

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.40
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.40

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Wood & Gibson, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.When Gen.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Wood & Gibson, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; When Gen. McClellan undertook to capture the confederate army on the Peninsula by seige, he commenced to construct a line of works from the York to the James river, across the narrow neck of the Peninsula, in front of Yorktown. The first battery was located on the York river, about a mile and three-quarters from Confederate's wharves and their main works in front of Yorktown. It was built by the First Connecticut artillery, Col. Tyler, and had six of the heaviest rifled guns ever mounted in a land battery, namely, one 200-pound Parrott and five 100-pounders. The guns were mounted on heavy wrought-iron carriages, and could only be fired once in fifteen minutes. The muzzles of the guns were about five feet from the ground, and the bottom of the carriages about ten feet below the surface. The dirt thrown out of the excavation was banked up in front of the guns, and kept from falling in by wicker baskets, constructed by the Engineer Corps, and filled with earth. On the top of these were piled bags of sand, and the whole sodded, making an embankment of thirty feet thick in front of the guns. The enemy fired a number of solid shot and shell into this bank from an English sixty-four rifled gun, but none of them did any damage, or entered over ten feet into the earth.; The work was built in a grove of peach trees, on a small promontory which ran out into the York river, and the first intelligence the enemy had of our movements there was a broadside into some of their schooners, which were unloading supplies at the wharf-front of Yorktown, nearly two miles distant. One shot tore through the rigging of a schooner, and another exploded close by, throwing an immense sheet of water into the air over the vessels. In a few minutes they all left, and ran up the York river out of sight. Occasional shots were fired from this battery, at various intervals, up to the time of the enemy's departure, but no regular bombardment was ever attempted by it. On riding through the confederate works, the next morning after the retreat, it was found that shells from this battery had fallen two miles beyond their works, or four miles from the battery. Nineteen men were killed and wounded at a distance of three miles by a single shell of tyke 100-pounders dropping into a confederate camp and exploding before the men could scatter.; An immense magazine in the rear, was connected with the guns by an underground tunnel, through which the men could pass in carrying ammunition. Experienced officers expressed the opinion that with this battery alone, the enemy could have been driven from their position in Yorktown. No lives were ever lost on our side at this battery from the enemy's fire upon it.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-05

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.12
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.12

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.The Post-Office at the Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac was a great institution.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; The Post-Office at the Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac was a great institution. Thousands of letters passed through it every week, and in the movements of the army, its welfare was regarded as almost of as much importance as any other department. Each regiment had a post boy, who carried the letters of his command to brigade headquarters. There the mails of the different regiments were placed in one pouch, and sent up to division headquarters, and thence to corps headquarters, where mail agents received them and delivered them at the principal depot of the army, to the agent from General Headquarters. When the army was encamped around Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, the corps mail agents delivered their mails to the headquarters agent at Falmouth station, the latter agent going through by rail and steamer to the General Post-Office at Washington. During the Petersburg campaign the mails going North were consolidated at City Point. As the mails passed to and from the army daily, the work required a large number of men, nearly all of whom were private soldiers detailed for such duty.; The photograph shows the tent used by the Post-Office Department at General Headquarters. The cases for the letters were made of rough boards, which on a march were packed away in the bottom of an army wagon, one being sufficient to carry the whole establishment, including the tent and its furniture. So systematically was this department conducted, under the supervision of Wm. B. Haslett, Postmaster, that a letter which left Boston on the morning of the first of the month, reaching Washington on the night of the second, would generally be delivered to the private soldier in the trenches at Petersburg on the night of the fourth. At times, however, the mails would accumulate in the office at Washington, necessitating a delay of several days before they could be assorted and placed in the several army pouches, one of which was kept for every corps, and detached command of the army.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-12

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.49
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.49

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Wood & Gibson, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; This, the best constructed of all the works thrown up for the bombardment of the rebel lines, was built in the orchard of the Farinholt House, near Yorktown, and was so completely concealed behind the little crest rising from the shore of the York river, as to be quite undistinguishable from the enemy's lines, except when the smoke of the guns revealed its existence. The ordnance consisted of five 100-pounders, and one of 200, all Parrot guns. The rebels;in trying to return the deadly fire of this artillery, burst one of their largest rifle guns, with fatal effect upon the cannoniers. That the fire of battery "NUMBER ONE" contributed largely to the reasons for evacuating the stronghold, there can be no doubt, the rebels wisely reasoning that if one battery could accomplish so much, what might not be the result if all opened. This earthwork was occupied by the Zouaves, Fifth Regiment New York Volunteers, commanded by Colonel, afterwards General, G. K. Warren.; While in camp at Baltimore they acquired under that officer the magnificent drill and soldierly bearing they afterwards showed upon so many battlefields. On Federal Hill, in Baltimore, they built the strong fort of that name, thus acquiring a knowledge of engineering, and, in addition to a wonderful precision in the manual and bayonet exercise, were well drilled in the use of heavy and light artillery. Attached to the division of regulars in the Fifth Corps, their record has been almost without comparison, as good and staunch soldiers. New York may well be proud of them: As a proof of their standing in the army, it was invariably their part to be chosen for an exhibition of military proficiency when distinguished visitors came to see the troops at the front. On one of these occasions they had to go through the exercises encumbered by heavy overcoats, rendered necessary by the unpresentable condition of their red breeches.; The Farinholt House commands a fine view of the river up to Yorktown, and Gloucester opposite. With a spy-glass it was easy to overlook the rebels working upon the lines at Gloucester Point, and the fortifications on this side. Schooners, constantly coming and going, brought ammunition and stores to the wharves at Yorktown, and occasionally the battery participated, at long range, in engagements brought on by gunboats venturing too far up the river.; The oysters of the York are celebrated for their excellence. In front of this house is one of the finest oyster beds in the river.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1862-05

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.13
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.13

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.

Description: Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.; On the Fourth of July, 1863, Lee's shattered army withdrew from Gettysburg, and started on its retreat from Pennsylvania to the Potomac. From Culp's Hill, on our right, to the forests that stretched away from Round Top, on the left, the fields were thickly strewn with Confederate dead and wounded, dismounted guns, wrecked caissons, and the debris of a broken army. The artist, in passing over the scene of the previous days' engagements, found in a lonely place the covert of a rebel sharpshooter, and photographed the scene presented here. The Confederate soldier had built up between two huge rocks, a stone wall, from the crevices of which he had directed his shots, and, in comparative security, picked off our officers. The side of the rock on the left shows, by the little white spots, how our sharpshooters and infantry had endeavored to dislodge him. The trees in the vicinity were splintered, and their branches cut off, while the front of the wall looked as if just recovering from an attack of geological small-pox. The sharpshooter had evidently been wounded in the head by a fragment of shell which had exploded over him, and had laid down upon his blanket to await death. There was no means of judging how long he had lived after receiving his wound, but the disordered clothing shows that his sufferings must have been intense. Was he delirious with agony, or did death come slowly to his relief, while memories of home grew dearer as the field of carnage faded before him? What visions, of loved ones far away, may have hovered above his stony pillow! What familiar voices may he not have heard, like whispers beneath the roar of battle, as his eyes grew heavy in their long, last sleep!; On the nineteenth of November, the artist attended the consecration of the Gettysburg Cemetery, and again visited the "Sharpshooter's Home." The musket, rusted by many storms, still leaned against the rock, and the skeleton of the soldier lay undisturbed within the mouldering uniform, as did the cold form of the dead four months before. None of those who went up and down the fields to bury the fallen, had found him. "Missing," was all that could have been known of him at home, and some mother may yet be patiently watching for the return of her boy, whose bones lie bleaching, unrecognized and alone, between the rocks at Gettysburg.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1863-07

maker: Gardner, Alexander

ID Number: 1986.0711.0334.41
accession number: 1986.0711
catalog number: 1986.0711.0334.41

Military

Plate 27. What Do I Want, John Henry? - scene near Washington

Plate 16. Camp at Cumberland Landing, on the Pamunkey

Plate 36. A Harvest of Death, Battle-field of Gettysburg

Plate 23. President Lincoln on Battle-Field of Antietam

Plate 32. Pontoon Bridge, Across the Rappahannock

Plate 17. Military Bridge Across the Chickahominy

Plate 22. Signal Tower, Elk Mountain, Overlooking Battle-Field of Antietam

Plate 31. Battery D, 2d U.S., Artillery, In Action

Plate 44. Slaughter Pen, Foot of Round Top, Battle-field of Gettysburg

Plate 46. Provost Marshal's Office, Aquia Creek

Plate 14. Battery No. 4, Near Yorktown

Plate 39. Gateway of Cemetary, Gettysburg

Plate 34. Group of Confederate Prisoners, Fairfax Court-House

Plate 47. Castle Murray, near Auburn, Virginia

Plate 54. Field Hospital, Second Army Corps, Brandy Station

Plate 50. The Halt, scene near Culpeper

Plate 45. Studying the Art of War, scene at Fairfax Court-House

Plate 25. Pontoon Bridge, Across the Potomac at Berlin

Plate 38. Interior of Breastworks on Round Top, Battle-field of Gettysburg

Plate 40. A Sharpshooter's Last Sleep, on Battle-field of Gettysburg

Plate 12. Battery No. 1, Near Yorktown - No. 1

Plate 49. General Post-Office, Army of the Potomac

Plate 13. Battery No. 1, Near Yorktown - No. 2

Plate 41. Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, Battle-field of Gettysburg