Copying Maps, Photographic Headquarters, Petersburg, Virginia
March 1865
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 19 x 24.6 cm (7 1/2 x 9 11/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.1236
Tags
Art Historical Context
In March 1865, as the American Civil War neared its climax during the Siege of Petersburg,, photographer Alexander Gardner captured pivotal behind-the-scenes moment at the Union army's Photographic Headquarters. Titled *Copying Maps*, this albumen silver print from a glass negative depicts soldiers meticulously reproducing maps—essential tools for military strategy amid General Ulysses S. Grant'sueling campaign against Confederate forces. Petersburg's fall just weeks later paved the way for Richmond's capture and Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, marking the war's end. Gardner's image ...
About the Artist
Alexander Gardner|Unknown
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...