Civil War Photographyby Sam Burris

Methods

● Wet-plate photographyo cameras were bulky and

difficult to maneuvero used lots of dangerous

chemicals ethyl ether acetic/sulfuric acid

o made a negative on a glass plate which could then be transferred to paper

Photographers● Many civil war photographers ventured out into the battlefields to

realistically capture the waro Mathew Brady

American born photographer who photographed major political figures on both sides of the war. Emphasized the grandeur these figures embodied

o Alexander Gardner Scottish immigrant who photographed President Lincoln,

battlefields post-battle, and Native American Ambassadors

o Timothy O’Sullivan Irish immigrant who worked under both Matthew Brady

and Alexander Gardner before joining the Union and, after being honorably discharged, travelling with Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Northern Virginia Campaign. Also took landscapes.

Mathew Brady

Alexander Gardner

Timothy O’Sullivan

Effects of Civil War Photography

● The first war to be truly documented by photographs

● Exposed the horrors of war to the public

● Before the Civil War, Americans perceived war as a relatively safe and civil thing

● Showed the effects of war on not only soldiers, but also on everyday life

Russian Civil War

Bibliography

● http://www.civilwar.org/photos/3d-photography-special/photography-and-the-civil-war.html

● http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/phcw/hd_phcw.htm

● http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/civil-war-photography-warfare-110411.htm