Three First Traverses on Land End, Fort Fisher, North Carolina

Art Historical Context

In the waning days of the American Civil War Timothy O'Sullivan captured a stark moment of Union triumph with *Three First Traverses on Land End, Fort Fisher, North Carolina* in January 1865. albumen print, plate 78 from Alexander Gardner's seminal 1866 publication *Photographic Sketch Book of the War, Volume II*, depicts soldiers navigating the bomb-scarred landscape at Fort Fisher—a massive Confederate stronghold on the North Carolina coast that guarded the vital port of Wilmington. The Union assault, led by General Ulysses S. Grant, marked one of the war's final major naval-infantry operations, ultimately securing the fort and hastening the Confederacy's collapse. O'Sullivan, a pioneering battlefield photographer who worked with Mathew Brady before joining Gardner's team, mastered the wet-collodion process to produce these crisp, detailed albumen prints—egg-white-coated paper that yielded rich tones and fine resolution despite the era's cumbersome equipment. Hauling heavy cameras through war zones, he created images that transcended mere documentation, composing dramatic vistas of destruction and human endurance. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Photography and Media Department, this 17.7 × 22.6 cm print offers visitors a visceral window into the Civil War's brutal reality, highlighting photography's emerging power as both historical record and artistic medium. It's a poignant reminder of the sacrifices at Land's End, where victory came at immense cost.

About the Artist

Timothy O'Sullivan · 1840–1882

Timothy H. O'Sullivan (c. 1840–1882) emerged as one of America's pioneering photographers during a transformative era. His early life remains sparsely documented, with records suggesting he was born either in New York City or Ireland before immigrating young, possibly growing up on Staten Island. As a teenager, he apprenticed under Mathew Brady at his Fulton Street gallery in New York, mastering w...