The Bloodiest Day
|
Less than four months after Gibson's photographic accomplishment at Savage Station, Alexander Gardner, with Gibson assisting, advanced war photojournalism to the next level with a dramatic series of images showing dead American soldiers as they fell at Antietam after the battle of September 17, 1862. In this view, one of the most famous of the war, dead Confederates lie near an abandoned limber chest in the heart of the battlefield. In the background is the Dunker Church, the place of worship for a sect of pacifists who avoided vanities such as church steeples. They rejected war on religious grounds and refused to fight. During the Sunday services before the battle, the Dunkers could hear the boom of cannon from the battle raging on nearby South Mountain. Four days later, the battle of Antietam exploded around their very sanctuary, which became a shelter for wounded while being damaged by flying shells.
Back view
| | Back view |
This original Gardner print carries his backmark and was issued after he opened his own gallery in Washington in May 1863. Antietam stereo views with the original "Brady's Album Gallery" backmark of 1862 are many times rarer than original Gardner views, which are themselves difficult to find.
|
