Burnside Bridge, Across Antietam Creek, Maryland
September 1862
Medium
Albumen print, pl. 20 from the album "Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, vol. 1" (1866)
Dimensions
Image/paper: 17.8 × 22.9 cm (7 1/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Album page: 31.2 × 44.6 cm (12 5/16 × 17 9/16 in.)
Classification
photograph
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196184
Art Historical Context
Captured in September 1862 during the of the Battle of Antietam—the bloodiest single day in history, with over 22,000 casualties—Alexander's *Burnside Bridge, Across Antietam Creek, Maryland* offers a haunting glimpse into the Civil War's grim reality. This narrow stone bridge, named for Union General Ambrose Burnside, a deadly chokepoint where Federal troops endured devastating Confederate fire while attempting to cross the creek. Gardner, a Scottish-born photographer who had worked under Mathew Brady before leading his own team, arrived days after the clash to document the scarred landscape,...
About the Artist
Alexander Gardner
Alexander Gardner was born on 17 October 1821 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, and came of age in a culture shaped by radical social thought. Influenced by the cooperative ideals of Robert Owen, Gardner initially apprenticed as a jeweler and harbored dreams of founding a utopian community in America. His encounter with photography changed the course of his life. After seeing Mathew Brady's cele...