By Adam Ochs Fleischer
Backdrops often associated with the Army of the Potomac look very similar, and teasing out their respective locations and photographers is one of the chief ambitions of this column. In this installment, we will examine one of them used by a photographer working with the 2nd Cavalry Division in Warrenton, Va., during the winter of 1863-64.
This backdrop is similar in some respects to the Culpeper backdrop (MI, January-February 1998) used in photographs taken 20 miles south of where the 2nd encamped.
The 2nd Cavalry Division backdrop came to my attention after I realized that all the examples I had compiled depicted cavalrymen. Sensing this beyond a coincidence, an investigation of the few identified images I had copied led me to collector Andrew German. To my surprise, German had found a period letter referencing the backdrop shown in his images. His research and contribution to this article deserve special thanks.
“Pictures” and “Photographs” in Warrenton
By the winter of 1863-1864, the 2nd Cavalry Division had participated in hard fighting, most recently during the Gettysburg Campaign. After the culminating battle in early July 1863, the division followed Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederates into Virginia, and continued to pursue them through the autumn and winter. Much of this activity centered in Northern Virginia, including the Mine Run and Bristoe Campaigns.
Warrenton, located about 50 miles west of Washington, D.C., became a crossroads of military activity during this period. For one photographer, it became a business opportunity.
A cache of letters written by Pvt. Kimball Pearsons of the 10th New York Cavalry from his regiment’s camp at Warrenton to his family in January and February 1864 provides details about this mystery photographer and his business.
Before reading the quotes, it is important to appreciate key photography-related terms written by Pearsons. He uses “artist” to describe the photographer, a common reference that harkens back to the origins of photography at the intersection of art and science. He also uses “pictures” to describe tintypes, and “photographs” rather than cartes de visite.
A January 13 letter includes a reference to the photographer’s arrival. “I hear there is an artist [who] put up his tent for taking pictures in our Brigade & I think I shall give him a call soon.” Pearsons’ tent-pitching reference suggests the photographer was itinerant.
On January 25, Pearsons mentioned visiting the photographer. “The artist does not take Photographs now but says he expects to before long then I will try him again.”
On February 18, he related, “Yesterday I went to Warrenton with N. Washburn & Ed Parker to get Photographs and the Artist charged six dollars per doz and five dollars for six. We could not see the point in paying such a price so we left without any.” It seems the itinerant artist did not start producing cartes de visite, or “photographs,” as he claimed he would, or else Pearsons wouldn’t have had to go into town in search of having them made.
For purposes of this column, Pearsons’ most important contribution comes in a February 10 letter. By this time, he had sat for his tintype, or “picture,” and sent it home to his family. The letter provides a rare description of a backdrop. Pearsons noted that the “back ground” of the “picture” he had sent, “Was a painting on canvas that hung two or three feet behind me in the tent representing forts cannonading a river, a few tents, and one or two Soldiers on guard. I could have one with hat off if you wish but they are very poor pictures.” The tintype he describes is reproduced here.
Bolstering this primary account are many identified images of division soldiers in front of the same backdrop. One such example is a quarter-plate tintype of Capt. Francis B. Allibone of the 1st New Jersey Cavalry, attached to the division from June 1863 through the end of the war. Another example is a quarter-plate tintype of Pvt. Isaiah Welch of the 1st Maine Cavalry. Welch enlisted in December 1863 and joined the regiment in Warrenton in January 1864. No less than nine subjects whose service history conforms to the backdrop’s location appear in History of the First Maine Cavalry, 1861-1865, published in 1887.
Possible Photographers
Photographers of the Army of the Potomac by Bob Zeller lists three photographers that operated in the 2nd Cavalry Division: James F. Stuart, “ambrotypist” W.S. Harriman, and Harriman’s assistant, J. Wright. A detailed search of these candidates as the Warrenton backdrop photographer has been unsuccessful in narrowing down which of them, if any, is the artist that Pearsons mentions in his letters.
While the mystery photographer certainly operated near Warrenton with the division during the winter of 1863-64, they could have moved on at some point, because this backdrop does appear in an image whose subject was with the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry. (The soldier enlisted on October 30th of 1864 and served until the conclusion of the war.) These Pennsylvanians never served in the 2nd Cavalry Division. However, it is conceivable that the regiment came in close vicinity to the Warrenton area on their way to Washington from Appomattox Court House in April-May of 1865.
About the backdrop
Pearsons’ description does the example justice. Several forts on hills in the background flank a winding river. On the viewer’s right sit Sibley tents with an American flag flying overhead and a cannon in the foreground. On the viewer’s left are standard A-frame shelter tents with a soldier on guard in the foreground. A two dimensionality exists to the objects closest to the picture plane.
Call to Action
Are you aware of information regarding a backdrop’s location and/or photographer that’s never been published? Is there a particular backdrop that’s stumped you for years? Do you have an idea for the next subject to explore? If so, I am happy to receive comments and suggestions. While this column will initially categorize different observations and connect newly learned material, a much more broad focus will be its ultimate goal. I hope to eventually study regional trends and aesthetic differences in the work of the artists who produced backdrops. An investigation of these more general topics depends upon a vast assemblage of information, and I am indebted to the many kind collectors and readers who have already contributed to this effort. Please reach out with what you know or hope to know!
Adam Ochs Fleischer is passionate researcher of Civil War photography and an admitted image “addict.” He began collecting in high school and quickly became obsessed. He lives in Chicago, Ill.
SPREAD THE WORD: We encourage you to share this story on social media and elsewhere to educate and raise awareness. If you wish to use any image on this page for another purpose, please request permission.
LEARN MORE about Military Images, America’s only magazine dedicated to showcasing, interpreting and preserving Civil War portrait photography.
VISIT OUR STORE to subscribe, renew a subscription, and more.