Contact: Jennifer Kon Email: info{-at-}civilwarphotography.org Date: March 8, 2010 - For Immediate Release

On March 3, more than a dozen members of the U.S. Congress, as well as their staff and other dignitaries gathered at the Rayburn House Office Building, across from the U.S. Capitol for the unveiling of the new graphic exhibition The Gathering Storm: Images of America on the Eve of the Civil War.  The exhibition was a joint venture between the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), History^TM, and the Center for Civil War Photography (CCWP).  CWPT sponsored the event to thank members of Congress for their support of federal battlefield preservation funding.

At the event, attendees browsed fifteen exhibit panels which took them back to the years before the Civil War—an era of tremendous growth and progress, but also one in which the clouds of war gathered and tore a divided country apart.  “With so much focus upon the war years themselves people rarely if ever get to see these fascinating images of the nation on the brink of war,” said CWPT spokesperson Jim Campi.  “Standing on Capitol Hill, where so many pre-war events unfolded 150 years ago, provided a great and somewhat eerie opportunity to journey back in time to the eve of the conflict.”

CCWP President Bob Zeller selected the imagery and wrote the exhibit script in coordination with CCWP Vice President Garry Adelman and CWPT.  “The imagery of the period reflected the changing nature of the country,” said Zeller, “depicting the mushrooming industrial growth in the North in striking contrast to the largely agrarian South and the often romanticized presentation of plantation life.  The camera captured the cultural essence of a fracturing nation, and preserved it for all time with the breathtaking realism that only a photograph can provide.”

The exhibition will be available to display at Civil War sites in the coming months.  For information about the Civil War Preservation Trust or about displaying The Gathering Storm at your venue, please contact Jim Campi at (202) 367-1861.

For information about the Center for Civil War Photography or having a custom exhibit or 3D slideshow created, contact CCWP Executive Director Jennifer Kon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

CCWP Vice President Garry Adelman stands next to an exhibit panel