Original Photographs Taken on the Battlefields during the Civil War of the United States — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Original Photographs Taken on the Battlefields during the Civil War of the United States
John Stuart Mill · en
TO feed the millions of fighting men in both armies during the years
1861 to 1865, was an enigma equalled only by the problem of ammunition.
After the diets of hardtack on the long marches there is no memory
dearer to the heart of the old veteran than a good, old-fashioned
"square meal" from the log-cabin kitchen in the camp. This is a typical
scene of one of these winter camps. They were substantially built of
logs, chinked in with mud and provided on one end with a generous mud
chimney and fireplace. The most "palatial" afforded a door and a window.
Roaring fires burned on the hearths. With the arrival of the soldiers,
knapsacks and traps were unpacked. The canteen was hung on its proper
peg. The musket found its place on the wall. The old frying pan and tin
cup were hung near the fire. There was to be a real "old home feast."
The soldiers crowded around the sutler's tent dickering over canned
goods and other luxuries which cost perhaps a half-month's pay. The log
settlement was all astir. Smoke issued from the mud chimneys. Crackling
fires and savory odors lightened the hearts of the warriors and the
community of huts rang with jovialty, laughter and song. Stories of the
conflict were told as the soldiers revelled over the hot and hearty meal
and not until the late hours did the tired comrades wrap themselves in
their blankets and fall onto their beds of pine needles or hard board
bunks.
THE charge of the cavalry is an intense moment on the battlefield. At
the time of the Civil War nothing was known of the snap-shot process in
photography and Brady tried frequently throughout the four years to
secure negatives of the cavalry. It seems to have been an impossibility
under the long "time exposure process." He did, however, succeed in
securing negatives of horses. Frequent opportunity to try to secure a
photograph of the cavalry, is proven by the fact that there were 3,266
troops, or more than 272 regiments, in defense of the Government. This
picture is found in Brady's collection and shows the cavalry depot at
Giesboro Point, Maryland, just outside of Washington. At the beginning
of the war the mounted men were used as scouts, orderlies, and in
outpost duty. General "Joe" Hooker finally turned a multitude of
detachments into a compact army corps of 12,000 horsemen. The gallant
horseman, "Phil" Sheridan, under instructions from General Grant,
organized three divisions of 5,000 mounted men, each armed with
repeating carbines and sabers. It was with this force that Sheridan met
the Confederate cavalry at Yellow Tavern, near Richmond, and
demonstrated the importance of mounted troops by great military powers.
One of the most magnificent scenes in the war was when 10,000 horsemen
moved out on the Telegraph Road leading from Fredericksburg to Richmond,
and the column, as it stood in "fours," well closed up, was thirteen
miles long and required four hours to pass a given point.
[Illustration]