Behind the Fighting

Behind the Fighting — page 1 — Introduction Civil War forms part of the Curriculum Connections series Each of the six volumes of the set covers a particular aspect of the conflict Home Front and the Economy Behind the Fighting Weapons Tactics and Strategy Politics Battles and Campaigns and People About this set Each volume in Civil War features illustrated chapters providing in-depth information about each subject The chapters are all listed in the contents pages of each book Each volume can be studied to provide a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the conflict However each chapter may also be studied independently Within each chapter there are two key aids to learning that are to be found in color sidebars located in the margins of each page Curriculum Context sidebars indicate to the reader that a subject has a particular relevance to certain key state and national history guidelines and curricula They highlight essential information or suggest useful ways for students to consider a subject or to include it in their studies Glossary sidebars define key words within the text At the end of the book a summary Glossary lists the key terms defined in the volume There is also a list of further print and Web-based resources and a full volume index Fully captioned illustrations play an important role throughout the set including photographs and explanatory maps 4 Behind the Fighting

Behind the Fighting — page 2 — About this book Behind the Fighting explores aspects of how those caught up in the conflict experienced its effects It also shows how news about events on the battlefield reached the people at home Many of the topics covered in this volume describe the many different ways in which soldiers were supported from their recruitment and training to how they lived in camp where they slept and what they ate There are also articles on the uniforms they wore and the music and mascots that accompanied them into battle Battlefield medicine developed rapidly during the war and all aspects of surgery and nursing care are described in the volume One of the most important wider developments of the Civil War was the public’s awareness of what was happening on the frontline People knew more about what had happened quicker than ever before thanks to technological innovations such as photography and the telegraph and to brave individuals who acted as special war correspondents and artists The reaction to the war was profound its effects still echo in popular culture today This volume explores the earliest impact of the conflict on contemporary artists and writers as well as the emergence of national cemeteries and other means of commemorating the sacrifice of those who died Introduction 5

Behind the Fighting — page 3 — Artists and Illustrators Throughout the Civil War artists were dispatched to the front line to produce illustrations of the conflict for newspapers and periodicals These men were considered reporters and referred to by their papers as special artists Images of the Civil War were relayed to the American public to an extent not seen before in war Although today the best-known images of the conflict are the photographs by Mathew Brady and others the public at the time was more familiar with the black-and-white illustrations produced in periodicals such as Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper Photography was still in its infancy Cameras did not have a fast enough shutter speed to take action shots so images of battlefield action came from artists sketches In addition many of the photographs taken remained classified until late in the 19th century It was artists and engravers who shaped the public’s view of the war as it occurred Special artists went to the battlefront as artist reporters A few such as Alfred Waud his brother William and Edwin Forbes gained popularity for their individual style and attracted a following Other artists were more anonymous Artists working for the foreign press also produced illustrations of the war notably Frank Vizetelly who covered the conflict from the Confederate side for the British Illustrated London News The specials produced sketches that were made into woodblock engravings to print The style of the artist was partly lost in this process which turned subtle drawing into flat blocked lines Today the original sketches of artists such as Alfred Waud are valued for their delicacy as well as their subject matter Curriculum Context What difference might have made by the public seeing what was happening on the battlefields Classified Declared an official secret by the government Woodblock A form of printing that carves lines into a piece of wood to print 6 Behind the Fighting

Behind the Fighting — page 4 — Soldier artists Many illustrations were made by soldiers themselves Newspapers included advertisements recruiting artists who were about to enlist Julian Scott and Charles W Reed were among the artists who were serving Union soldiers Scott’s most famous work is The Drummer Boy while Reed produced humorous illustrations for Hardtack and Coffee a popular book published in 1887 Winslow Homer One war artist who went on to become a celebrated painter was Winslow Homer 1836 1910 who worked during the conflict as an artist for Harper’s Weekly Homer depicted the squalor and boredom of camp life while giving his soldiers a quiet grandeur Home Sweet Home 1863 shows a soldier in camp making the most of his makeshift surroundings In Prisoners from the Front 1866 a tall arrogant Confederate cavalryman and two other prisoners stand before their Union captors Homer expertly captures the tension between the men His interest in the way ordinary soldiers looked and acted shaped a new genre of military art Interest from abroad The most famous of the foreign artists who depicted the Civil War was the French Impressionist Edouard Curriculum Context Homer’s war paintings could be included in a discussion of currents and themes in American art in the 19th century Winslow Homer’s Drum and Bugle Corps 1865 Homer was a freelance illustrator who followed the Army of the Potomac He was drawn to scenes of everyday soldier life rather than battle action and produced a number of oil paintings in the genre Artists and Illustrators 7

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