Lens of War: Exploring Iconic Photographs of the Civil War

Abstract

Insightful Meditations on Civil War Photographs This volume is the result of "a deceptively simple invitation" issued by J. Matthew Gallman and Gary W. Gallagher to twenty-five fellow Civil War historians: "select one photograph taken during the Civil War and write about it" (2). The book reproduces the images-many familiar, others less well known-alongside the contributors' sprite reflections. The photographs fall into at least one of five categories-leaders, soldiers, civilians, victims, and places. Not surprisingly, many contributors decide on photographs that illustrate their line of research-Jane Schultz, for instance, contemplates a photograph of the Union nurse Annie Etheridge Hooks, Daniel Sutherland reflects on Champ Ferguson, and Joan Waugh takes on Grant-but others embrace the opportunity to write about a person, place, or event removed from their existing body of scholarship.