I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like.
Jackson
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
The war of Northern aggression....
Posted by Chris Lovelady (Member # 2540) on :
Amen Brother carl~
Posted by Russ McMullin (Member # 5617) on :
The fuse is lit. It's now just a matter of time...
Jackson, those are cool photos. It's amazing how well they were able to capture exposures back then. It didn't hurt that the negatives were large, but I am always impressed with the beauty of old photographs.
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Russ,
The cameras at that time didn't even use film!
They coated large glass plates with the photo chemicals, set the plate in the camera and exposed the shot, then developed the plate in a "darkroom wagon" right there on-site. Yeah, they had to bring a whole rig with them to shoot!
Because the plates were glass they could get incredible detail in the images, even more than large format films allow.
The chemical treated glass plates also allowed image exposure times of mere seconds, instead of several minutes required by previous methods.
Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
There was a great photo of the iconic St. Michael's Church in Charleston - Sherman spared it and it's still standing today on the original cobblestone street.......
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Jackson,
Thank you very much for posting.
This is a great collection. It goes well with my last book purchase, "The Real American Tragedy 1861-1865"
Posted by Todd Gill (Member # 2569) on :
Abraham Lincoln is a direct descendant of our family.... guess that explains where I got my good looks. Very interesting pictures Jackson. Must have been the worst job being a battlefield doctor back then.
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
my great grandfather and his brother fought at the battle of Shiloh- he was only 14 years old, in order to enlist, he lied about his age and stuffed his boots with cotton to make him taller. He and other veterans told awful, horrible stories about the war and what they witnessed- my grandfather later recounted some of those stories and passed some of them down...
These photos are an incredible collection- I would love to find some photos of Shiloh battle like these
Posted by George Perkins (Member # 156) on :
War is ugly.
Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
Great pictures to see.
Carl & Chris, I find it interesting that people from the south still view the war this way. Even many generations later. Up here it isn't viewed negatively towards either side.
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
I have seen many of these, I have a lot of books on the subject. But they still bear looking at and remembering.
I can't recall who told me this, but if you look at casualty photographs oftentimes you'll notice that their clothing is rumpled. This is supposedly because the soldier was frantically checking to see if he was gut-shot. Sometimes that was the kiss of death, other times it saved their life because they would not be operated upon in a field hospital.
You also notice a lot of shoeless corpses. This is because their comrades and enemies often were without shoes, and took them from the dead.
My great-great grandfather was a blacksmith when he enlisted in the 101st Pennsylvania at the age of 18. He was shot in the chest at the battle of Seven Pines (Fair Oaks) and survived, but the bullet was never removed and it eventually killed him in 1900. He was captured at the battle of Plymouth and shipped to Andersonville, released after 8 months a virtual skeleton.
There is one picture of him with his brother, from the same regiment, in the possession of a relative in Maryland. They are elderly and afraid to photograph the tintype so all I have is a blurry crappy picture of it. But I do have copies of 17 letters he wrote home, which are now owned by the Bedford Couty Historical Society. I visit his grave when I can.
I am glad that people on both sides honor their ancestors, who gave their lives for something they believed was worth fighting for. Love....Jill
Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
The above link goes well with this post, as to new findings of rare artifacts.
Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bob Rochon: Great pictures to see.
Carl & Chris, I find it interesting that people from the south still view the war this way. Even many generations later. Up here it isn't viewed negatively towards either side.
Why would they, the Union won the war.
Posted by Jackson Smart (Member # 187) on :
Not to make light of this awful war....but did anyone notice the very ornate sign and bracket in picture number 38.
It is the Vulcan Iron Works in Charleston SC in 1865.
As in all wars.....there are no winners...everyone loses.
Jackson
Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
David,
How did I know you would respond to my post?
If we use that same perspective from your answer, then I guess you could assume the North would gloat and assume "victory" or say negative things about the south whenever this topic is brought up in this day and age. But it not that way around here at all.
I find it interesting that 150 years later generations that are as far removed from the war as the Moon is to the Earth still carry a personal grudge.
Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :
I don't know why you would expect me to respond to you Bob, is there something I am not aware of?
You do realize that in Europe especially Eastern Europe their issues have gone on for hundreds of years more than ours. This is not about something trivial as a personal grudge that brings southerners resentments to the forefront. I won't go into that because that is frowned on here.
As far as the general populations opinion on these matters, most wouldn't know what century or what issues were at stake in a war fought before they were born.
But you and I both know there is a lot of condescending attitude by northerners against southerners to this day. Maybe some of the under currents from times past still are playing out.
I know, hijacking the original post. Sorry, but hey, I have a lot of thoughts on this period of American history.
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Michael,
Very interesting about your family involvement with the battle at Shiloh.
It was a bloody one day ordeal. On that foggy Sunday morning of April 6, 1862 troops lined up on both sides of a small creek armed and ready to fire. With the first sign of light, the volly of gun fire started which only lasted for about an hour. There was 10,699 troops laying so deep in the creek bed, it was said you couldn't get across without stepping on bodies. And there was plenty of streaming blood.
The book "Shilo" by Shelby Foot tells the story from letters written by three Union Soldiers and three Confiderate Boys.
This battle haunts me. I feel for both sides. These were wonderful Americans and we should remember them.
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
Darryl Worley has a great song about Shiloh....in fact it's the name of the song, on his "Have You Forgotten" album...
[ August 18, 2010, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: Carl Wood ]
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
The photographers at the time were known to reposition and pose the corpses, as well as falsify their photo captions in order to tell their stories the way they wanted them told and contribute to war propaganda to garner support for their side...
So, you can't even trust these old photos to be completely accurate.
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Mike,
What the photo's do show is the death and suffering, no matter what side you're on.
After this two day battle mass graves were dug to care for the thousands left behind. Not to mention the log cabins which were interned as emergency/surgery rooms. There was no anesthesia or antibiotics. The pain and suffering must have been awful.
The photo's stand for themselves. They are accurate in that respect.
Thanks to Matthew Brady and many other dedicated, hard working, photographers for their efforts to doccument. It's doubtful there is much distortion about what really happened.
[ August 19, 2010, 04:50 AM: Message edited by: Joe Crumley ]
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
Bob probably doesn't understand the slogan, "Remember the Alamo" either.....(sigh)
Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
I'm a backwoods, southern redneck and I just loooooove my lil' Yankee wife. God bless you Bob and Carl.......... Posted by Kathy Weeks (Member # 10828) on :
My husband and I, visited Gettysburg, PA, a few years ago. We bought a cassette tape that provides a driving/guided tour, in your own car, through the all the battlefields and surrounding area. It was awesome, as in - we were in awe. The battle of Gettysburg was a three day battle, in early July - hottest temps. Almost every state (at the time) was involved. The First Minnesota fought one of the worst parts of the battle and almost all were killed, but their loss/battle saved many more soldiers. One thing that hit me, so sad - that most of the 300,000 soldiers that died there - died from illness from drinking foul water - not from bullets or cannon shrapnel. There were at least a hundred beautiful sculptured monuments throughout the battle areas. It is a great place to visit, they've made it so real-as-the-day - to help us remember our past, and all our brothers - it happened, not that long ago.
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
Wayne - Great post...Thank You! Sometimes a little good hearted "jousting" is a good thing...Chipley area is cool I have been around there a few times diving the Natural Springs...how far are you from Wakulla, or the Rainbow River?
Kathy - Would love to tour Gettysburg, someday....Vicksburg, Mississippi is another great Civil War Park, they have hundreds of monuments & a driving tour as well....they have a gunboat recovered from the battlesite / Mississippi River they are in the process of conserving. Evger down that way it is definately worth visiting, there are several other sites close by, as well.......
Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
We're about 125 miles or so from Wakulla, I think. I don't know about Rainbow River. They found a huge mastodon skeleton in that Wakulla spring and have it on display at the Museum in Tallahassee. I saw it just few weeks ago. Pretty cool.
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
Wayne - We Love the Crystal River area as well, Vortex Spring is a great place also in the mid/panhandle region...Is Cypress Springs closed to the general public now?
Edited to add: We may be making a trip soon to the Blackwater River, was there last Fall & need to get back to that Beautiful place.....the Ranger I met there told me it's one of the purest sand bottom rivers in the world......& I believe him...it was tea-stained water but the bottom is all pure quartz white sand.....
[ August 21, 2010, 02:41 AM: Message edited by: Carl Wood ]
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Very interesting pictures Jackson. Must have been the worst job being a battlefield doctor back then.
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