Witness History: #6 - Alfred R. Waud / The Battle of Gettysburg / July 1863

Alfred R. Waud, sketching scenes from the Civil War for Harper's Weekly magazine:

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Todays picture shows the American painter Alfred R. Waud while working during the American Civil War. At the time, Waud is working for Harper's Weekly, a journal of civilization, a journal based in New York. This particular picture shows Waud as he is working on some sketches of the Battle of Gettysburg. Back in the day, sketches as Waud's were the only way to visually represent an event in the newspaper.

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^{Alfred R. Waud, documenting the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863}

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About the picture: The photographer is Timothy H. O'Sullivan. This photograph is most likely to have been captured on a glass plate. This technique is very similar to the daguerrotype, with the difference that the chemicals are placed on a glass plate instead of a silver plate. It is thus one of the earliest forms of photography and causes this particular look.

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^{One of Waud's sketches from the battle of Gettysburg, Harper's Weekly Journal, 1863}

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About the battle: The battle of Gettysburg is fought from July 1st to July 3rd 1863. The battle was won by the union, with the confederates losing around 23,000 to 28,000 people, and the United States roughly 23,000. The battle of Gettysburg saw what is estimated to have been the larges military bombing of the entire war, with around a 150 confederate artillery canons opening fire on enemy lines. Furthermore, the battle of Gettysburg is, in total numbers, the deadliest battle of the war.

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