U.S. Military Telegraph Construction Corps
April 1864
Medium
Albumen print, pl. 62 from the album "Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, Volume II" (1866)
Dimensions
Image/paper: 17.3 × 22.3 cm (6 13/16 × 8 13/16 in.); Album page: 31.1 × 44 cm (12 1/4 × 17 3/8 in.)
Classification
photograph
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196202
Art Historical Context
Captured in April 1864 amid the American Civil War, *U.S. Military Telegraph Construction Corps by Timothy O'Sullivan offers a rare glimpse into the unsung logistical backbone of the Union Army. O'Sullivan, a pioneering photographer who worked with Mathew Brady and later Alexander Gardner, documented the war's gritty realities from the front lines. This albumen print, plate 62 from Gardner's landmark 1866 publication *Photographic Sketch Book of the, Volume II*, depicts soldiers erecting telegraph poles—a critical innovation that enabled rapid battlefield communication over vast distances. Th...
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...