The Shebang, or Quarters of U.S. Sanitary Commission, Brandy Station
November 1863
Medium
Albumen print, pl. 51 from the album "Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, Volume II" (1866)
Dimensions
Image: 17.7 × 22.9 cm (7 × 9 1/16 in.); Album page: 31.1 × 44.7 cm (12 1/4 × 17 5/8 in.)
Classification
photograph
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196391
Art Historical Context
In November 1863, amid the American Civil War's grueling Eastern Theater, photographer James Gardner captured *The Shebang, or Quarters of U.S. Commission, Brandy Station*. This albumen print depicts the humble quarters of the U.S. Sanitary Commission—a volunteer organization that provided medical aid, food, and supplies to Union soldiers. "Shebang," a slang term for a makeshift shelter, evokes the resourcefulness of camp life at Brandy Station, Virginia, a Union base near the site of the war's largest cavalry battle earlier that year. As plate 51 from Alexander Gardner's landmark *Photograph...