Class Year
2015
Document Type
Blog Post
Publication Date
3-17-2014
Department 1
Civil War Institute
Abstract
As the first war to see the extensive use of photography, the American Civil War was brought home to civilians in hundreds of photographs portraying camp life or the aftermath of battles. Due to the nature of nineteenth century photography as well as safety concerns, however, photographers were not able to capture scenes of actual combat for their viewers. This task fell instead to men known as Special Artists or “Specials,” hired by the illustrated periodicals of the day to travel with the armies and sketch all manner of events associated with the military, including battles as they progressed. [excerpt]
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Caswell, Bryan G., "Notation and Memorandum: Special Artists and their Portrayal of the American Civil War" (2014). The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History. 36.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/compiler/36
Comments
This blog post originally appeared in The Gettysburg Compiler and was created by students at Gettysburg College.