Blog #5

My overall impression of the Civil War exhibit was overwhelmed. Photography played a major role in this war and captured heartbreaking moments. I found the photos of this exhibit to be depressing yet useful. The realities of the war itself were depressing. There were 3D images of soldiers laying dead, as well as photos of battered slaves, and people of color who have suffered a great deal. The usage of photos in mini photo albums and lockets were useful within American culture as means of keeping families comforted and hopeful. The amount of photos and information of all aspects of this time in American history was what was most overwhelming about the exhibit. Though it was overwhelming I still was able to learn a lot of information I had not known prior to this museum trip.

This exhibition told the story of not only the soldiers during the war but also the hardships of people of color, and the greater awareness of the events happening from day to day during the war.

One of the three artifacts I found interesting were the portrait lockets that were set in brass and gold plated cases. During and after the war women would pin portraits of their family member who were involved in the war to lapels where the lockets hung on metal chains and or velvet ribbon.It was as if they were a fashion statement and a symbol of comfort and hope.

I found this second artifact disturbing and interesting at the same time. It was the photo of Gordon, a run away slave, taken in April of 1863. The photo is of the sever whipping scars on Gordon's back. Gordon was a slave who escaped bondage. This photo was widely duplicated and sold in print and secured its place as an monumental photo of dissemination of the ideologically abolitionist photos. This is one of the most famous photos of slaves in the Civil War era.

The third artifact I found interesting was the photo of rebel prisoners. A team of field operatives came across a trio of Confederate prisoners on seminary ridge two weeks after the battle of Gettysburg. This photo was a rare glimpse of captured Confederates, possibly spies, on their way to Union prison. I found it interesting that there were prisons for these spies instead of them simply being killed.