Civil War Combat Artists and the Pictures They Drew

What did the battle of Gettysburg look like? Despite the vast number of photographs associated with the Civil War, we have no photos of the battles themselves. The state of photography at that time could not stop action as it does today. But we DO have pictures. They are the drawings of the battlefield artists -- the Specials, as they were called -- sent out by publications such as Harper's Weekly to make a visual record of the pivotal event in American history. The woodcuts that Harper's and other publications produced based on these drawings are famous and well-known. But what of the drawings themselves -- those made during the battle or in the evening when the firing has ceased? Unfortunately, while many of them still exist, relatively few have ever been published. This series, Battlelines, seeks to correct that. We begin with a five-volume set of those drawings related to the battle of Gettysburg. This volume (number 2 in the set) presents the drawings of the first day of the battle, Wednesday, July 1, 1863. All of the drawings were executed by Alfred Waud, one of the most prolific of all of the war's combat artists. You will find out much more about Waud in this book. Watch for other volumes in this set.

What did the battle of Gettysburg look like? Despite the vast number of photographs associated with the Civil War, we have no photos of the battles themselves. The state of photography at that time could not stop action as it does today. But we DO have pictures. They are the drawings of the battlefield artists -- the Specials, as they were called -- sent out by publications such as Harper's Weekly to make a visual record of the pivotal event in American history. The woodcuts that Harper's and other publications produced based on these drawings are famous and well-known. But what of the drawings themselves -- those made during the battle or in the evening when the firing has ceased? Unfortunately, while many of them still exist, relatively few have ever been published. This series, Battlelines, seeks to correct that. We begin with a five-volume set of those drawings related to the battle of Gettysburg. This volume (number 3 in the set) presents the drawings of the second day of the battle, Thursday, July 2, 1863. All of the drawings were executed by Alfred Waud and Edwin Forbes.

What did the battle of Gettysburg look like? Despite the vast number of photographs associated with the Civil War, we have no photos of the battles themselves. The state of photography at that time could not stop action as it does today. But we DO have pictures. They are the drawings of the battlefield artists -- the Specials, as they were called -- sent out by publications such as Harper's Weekly to make a visual record of the pivotal event in American history. The woodcuts that Harper's and other publications produced based on these drawings are famous and well-known. But what of the drawings themselves -- those made during the battle or in the evening when the firing has ceased? Unfortunately, while many of them still exist, relatively few have ever been published.

What did the battle of Gettysburg look like? Despite the vast number of photographs associated with the Civil War, we have no photos of the battles themselves. The state of photography at that time could not stop action as it does today. But we DO have pictures. They are the drawings of the battlefield artists -- the Specials, as they were called -- sent out by publications such as Harper's Weekly to make a visual record of the pivotal event in American history. The woodcuts that Harper's and other publications produced based on these drawings are famous and well-known. But what of the drawings themselves -- those made during the battle or in the evening when the firing has ceased? Unfortunately, while many of them still exist, relatively few have ever been published. This series, Battlelines, seeks to correct that. We begin with a five-volume set of those drawings related to the battle of Gettysburg. This volume (number 5 in the set) presents the drawings of the aftermath of the battle -- drawings by Alf Waud and Edwin Forbes executed on July 4 and afterward as Lee's army limped back across the Potomac River.

The Heroes History Forgot: Southern Officers Who Kept Their Oath to the ConstitutionWhen Virginia seceded in April 1861, Colonel Robert E. Lee faced an agonizing choice: accept command of the Union army or follow his state into rebellion. He chose Virginia and broke his oath to the Constitution. On the same day, another Virginian made a different choice.Winfield Scott, the 74-year-old commanding general of the Army, remained loyal to the oath he had taken 50 years earlier. "I have served my country under the flag of the Union for more than fifty years," Scott said, "and so long as God permits me to live, I will defend that flag with my sword."Scott was not alone. George H. Thomas, a Virginian from a slave-owning family, kept his oath and was disowned by his relatives-they turned his portrait to the wall and never spoke to him again. David Farragut of Tennessee abandoned his Norfolk home and later led the Union fleet to victory at Mobile Bay. John Gibbon, raised in North Carolina, commanded Union troops at Gettysburg while three of his brothers fought for the Confederacy. Hundreds of other Southern officers made the same choice: duty over family, Constitution over state, oath over convenience.The Unbroken Oath: The Southern Heroes Who Chose the Union tells the forgotten stories of these men-officers who kept their word when it cost them everything.What History ForgotFor more than a century, the Lost Cause mythology has dominated our understanding of the Civil War. It taught generations that the war was about states' rights, that Confederate leaders were noble defenders of their homeland, and that all true Southerners supported secession. This mythology required one crucial erasure: Southern Unionists had to be forgotten, because their very existence contradicted the entire narrative.If George Thomas-a Virginian who saved the Union army at Chickamauga and destroyed a Confederate army at Nashville-remained loyal to his oath, then secession was not the inevitable choice of honor. If 100,000 white Southerners fought in Union blue, then the South was never unified. If officers from the most prominent Southern families chose the Constitution over their states, then loyalty to the Union was not incompatible with being Southern.So these men were erased. Their service went unrecognized in their home states. Their names disappeared from textbooks. Statues rose to celebrate Confederate "heroes," but not these men.Inside This BookThe Unbroken Oath reclaims these remarkable stories:George H. Thomas, "The Rock of Chickamauga," whose family turned his portrait to the wall and refused to claim his body when he diedDavid Farragut, who "damned the torpedoes" at Mobile Bay after choosing his country over his Tennessee rootsWinfield Scott, the legendary general who remained loyal when hundreds of younger officers resignedJohn Gibbon, who commanded troops at Gettysburg while his own brothers fought against him in Confederate ranksThese men came from Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and other Confederate states. They attended West Point. They owned slaves or came from slave-owning families. By every measure of background and culture, they should have joined the Confederacy. Instead, they kept their oaths-and helped save the United States.