The Civil War Through the CameraElson, Henry W. (Henry William)
History
The Civil War Through the Camera
Elson, Henry W. (Henry William)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Pictorial works
The clearest and most trustworthy evidence of an opponent's strength is of
course an actual photograph. Such evidence, in spite of the early stage of
the art and the difficulty of "running in" chemical supplies on "orders to
trade," was supplied the Confederate leaders in the Southwest by Lytle,
the Baton Rouge photographer--really a member of the Confederate secret
service. Here are photographs of the First Indiana Heavy Artillery
(formerly the Twenty-first Indiana Infantry), showing its strength and
position on the arsenal grounds at Baton Rouge. As the Twenty-first
Indiana, the regiment had been at Baton Rouge during the first Federal
occupation, and after the fall of Port Hudson it returned there for
garrison duty. Little did its officers suspect that the quiet man
photographing the batteries at drill was about to convey the "information"
beyond their lines to their opponents.
"MY EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MR. DEWEY"
[Illustration]
THE FUTURE ADMIRAL AS CIVIL WAR LIEUTENANT
In the fight with the batteries at Port Hudson, March 14, 1863, Farragut,
in the "Hartford" lashed to the "Albatross," got by, but the fine old
consort of the "Hartford," the "Mississippi," went down--her gunners
fighting to the last. Farragut, in anguish, could see her enveloped in
flames lighting up the river. She had grounded under the very guns of a
battery, and not until actually driven off by the flames did her men
leave her. When the "Mississippi" grounded, the shock threw her
lieutenant-commander into the river, and in confusion he swam toward the
shore; then, turning about, he swam back to his ship. Captain Smith thus
writes in his report: "I consider that I should be neglecting a most
important duty should I omit to mention the coolness of my executive
officer, Mr. Dewey, and the steady, fearless, and gallant manner in which
the officers and men of the 'Mississippi' defended her, and the orderly
and quiet manner in which she was abandoned after being thirty-five
minutes aground under the fire of the enemy's batteries. There was no
confusion in embarking the crew, and the only noise was from the enemy's
cannon." Lieutenant-Commander George Dewey, here mentioned at the age of
26, was to exemplify in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, the lessons he was
learning from Farragut.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: PICKETT'S CHARGE AT GETTYSBURG.
_Painted by C. D. Graves._
_Copyright, 1901, by Perrien-Keydel Co.,
Detroit, Mich., U. S. A._]
WHILE LINCOLN SPOKE AT GETTYSBURG, NOVEMBER 19, 1863
[Illustration]
DURING THE FAMOUS ADDRESS IN DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account