Fort Totten, N.W. of Washington

Art Historical Context

Captured in 1865, *Fort Totten, N.W. of Washington* is a poignant albumen silver print from a glass negative, to the studio of Mathew B. Brady the pioneering photographer of the American Civil War. Located just northwest of the nation's capital, Fort Totten one of the extensive ring of earthwork fortifications built by the Union Army to defend Washington, D.C., against potential Confederate assaults. This image, taken at the war's close—mere months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox—offers a rare glimpse into the massive defensive network that safeguarded the Union heartland, featuring soldiers amid hulking cannons poised for action that never fully materialized. The albumen silver print process, popular in the mid-19th century, produced richly toned images with fine detail from glass negatives, allowing Brady's team to document the war's gritty realities with unprecedented clarity. Brady's photographs, often collaborative efforts by his operatives, shifted public perception by bringing the conflict's scale into sharp focus, from battlefields to homefront defenses. Today, housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Photographs Department through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, this work underscores photography's role as a historical witness. It reminds visitors of the Civil War's vast human and material toll, immortalizing the vigilance of soldiers at Fort Totten as a symbol of resilience and readiness.

About the Artist

Mathew B. Brady|Unknown · 1823–1896

Mathew B. Brady (c. 1823–1896) was an American photographer who became the most famous photographer of the Civil War era and one of the founding figures of American photographic history. Born in Warren County, New York, to Irish immigrant parents, he learned the daguerreotype process from Samuel F.B. Morse and William Page and opened his first portrait studio in New York City in 1844. Brady quick...