Photographers of the American Civil War

New Ironsides and monitor class ironclads engaging Fort Moultrie, Charleston Harbor, SC. September 8, 1863 - George S.Cook
USS New Ironsides and five monitor-class warships engaging Forts Wagner and Gregg in Charleston harbor, S.C., in what is one of the world's first combat action photographs, taken in (September 5/6[?] 1863.Haas & Peale
Pickets cooking their rations. Reserve picket fort near Fredericksburg, December 9, 1862[1]
Picture of alleged "Confederate dead on Matthews Hill, Bull Run" Brady Handy Collection[2][3]

The American Civil War was the most widely covered conflict of the 19th century. The images would provide posterity with a comprehensive visual record of the war and its leading figures, and make a powerful impression on the populace. Something not generally known by the public is the fact that roughly 70% of the war's documentary photography was captured by the twin lenses of a stereo camera.[4] The American Civil War was the first war in history whose intimate reality would be brought home to the public, not only in newspaper depictions, album cards and cartes-de-visite, but in a popular new 3D format called a "stereograph," "stereocard" or "stereoview." Millions of these cards were produced and purchased by a public eager to experience the nature of warfare in a whole new way.[5]

  1. ^ The "Dead on Matthews Hil"Arent Dead" by Bob Zeller Battlefield Photographer Volume XX Issue 3 December 2022
  2. ^ Illustrated in: Frassanito, William A., E474.65.F7 (P&P) Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America's Bloodiest Day, E474.65.F7 (P&P). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 31, with comments on pages 30-32
  3. ^ The "Dead on Matthews Hil"Arent Dead" by Bob Zeller Battlefield Photographer Volume XX Issue 3 December 2022
  4. ^ "Blue & Gray in Black & White", Zeller, Bob, 2005 Introduction xvi
  5. ^ "CCWP". Center for Civil War Photography, John Richter's 3-D Anaglyph Photographs Exhibit. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.