how did photography impact the civil war?

Photography during the war impacted various elements of everyday life:
a) enhanced political images
b) showed glimpses of the war
c) gave a keepsake of sons/husbands at war
d) realized war was not like the Victorian beliefs led them to believe.


Ultimately, it brought those at home closer to those at the warfront.

Impact A: Enhanced Politcal Figures

In the US History Scene (Doc. A) article, Lincoln jokingly states that the portrait of Lincoln (taken by Mathew Brady) indirectly helped him win his reelection.
In another situation, officers' portraits were handed out to soldiers as a morale boost. (Doc. B: NBC)

Impact B: Scenes of War

Often, photographed scenes were rearranged to be dramatized. The reason for this dramatization is the fact that the photographers had a wagon full of equipment and chemicals. The chemicals and the plate had to be level for the picture to form. Additionally, the photographers to deal with the flies attracted to the photo chemicals, the ethel that caused dizziness, and the stench of carcasses. (Doc. C: Discovery)

Impact C: Keepsakes of family
Though it allowed for memories, these small ambrotypes allowed for the mass production of small photos, which were portable. (Doc. C)
Impact D: disposal of Victorian War Prior to the war, people believed war deaths were noble and that attacks were done in orderly fashions. With the entrance of photographs, many realized that this was not the case.

a) A clean sheet of glass was evenly coated with collodion.
b) In a darkroom or a light-tight chamber, the coated plate was immersed in a silver nitrate solution, sensitizing it to light.
c) After it was sensitized, the wet negative was placed in a light-tight holder and inserted into the camera, which already had been positioned and focused.
d) The "dark slide," which protected the negative from light, and the lens cap were removed for several seconds, allowing light to expose the plate.
e) The "dark slide" was inserted back into the plate holder, which was then removed from the camera.
f) In the darkroom, the glass plate negative was removed from the plate holder and developed, washed in water, and fixed so that the image would not fade, then washed again and dried.
g) Usually the negatives were coated with a varnish to protect the surface.
h) After development, the photographs were printed on paper and mounted.
(Doc D: Civil War Photography)

Famous Photographers

Mathew Brady:
-was known as a photographic legacy of the Civil War
-once the war began, Brady was well established as one of the most prestigious photographers in America after being introduced to daguerreotypy
-made the most photographs (had many assistants)
Alexander Gardner:
-worked at Mathew Brady's studio for a while
-later switched to carte de visite photographs (small photographic portraits used as calling cards)
-was the official photographer of the Army of the Potomac, after which he established his own galleries in Washington and New York
-after the war he photographed the route of the Union Pacific Railroad
Timothy O'Sullivan

-spent his early career working for Alexander Gardner and
Mathew Brady
-photographed Battle of Gettysburg under Mathew Brady
-went on to photograph the West and the Panama Canal


(Doc E)

a sharpshooter's last sleep

Why does it matter today?

With pictures from the war, historians and civilians can learn more about life during the war. Though some pictures were dramatized, we can still absorb the brutality of the war and how it impacted the years to come.
For example, there were newly freed black soldiers that were photographed during the war. When we look at those pictures today, we can learn that many former slaves would work in the war effort in order for their freedom.

Analysis

People of the Civil War era changed their views with the introduction of photography. First of all, the Victorian beliefs were discarded. War became a concept where death was real and not orderly or noble. This happened with the glimpses of war as shared by the photographers of the war. Everyday war scenes allowed people to recognize how brutal war was. Though some scenes were dramatized, the essence of the brutality was left untouched, which allowed both sides to realize that making sacrifices to reunite was good.
Photography also boosted political figures, just as their morale was boosted with nostalgic pictures of their fathers, sons, husbands, and brothers at war.

bibliography

• "Civil War Photographers." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.
• Covkin, Serena. "Photography and History: The American Civil War." US History Scene. N.p., 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
• Myers, Chuck. "Iconic Civil War Photograph Sparks Controversy."Military1.com. McClatchy/Tribune News Service, 24 June 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.
• Niiler, Eric. "How Civil War Photography Changed War : DNews." DNews. N.p., 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
• Department of Photographs. "Photography and the Civil War, 1861–1865". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/phcw/hd_phcw.htm (October 2004)

Bibliography (continued)

• "Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints." Photography Process during the Civil War. Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.