Battlefield of the New Hope Church, Georgia, No. 2 from the album Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign
George N. Barnard
American, 1819–1902
1864-65
An albumen silver print by George N. Barnard that documents the scarred terrain around New Hope Church, aiming to confront viewers with the unvarnished physical aftermath of Civil War combat.
Your eye is caught by a raw, gaping trench and a tangle of fallen trunks and broken tree silhouettes that extend into a hollowed, silent woods, giving the scene a quiet, forensic intensity.
Part of Barnard’s images of Sherman's campaign, this work helped establish photography as a means of historical evidence—shaping public memory of the war and anticipating documentary and journalistic practices in visual reportage.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
10 1/16 × 14 1/8" (25.6 × 35.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired by exchange with the Library of Congress
Accession
409.1969.26
Palette
Exhibitions
