In 1860, Alfred Waud became an illustrator or "special artist" (a full-time paid staff artist) for the "New York Illustrated News". In April 1861, the newspaper assigned Waud to cover the Army of the Potomac, Virginia's main Union army. He first illustrated General Winfield Scott in Washington, D.C., and then entered the field to render the First Battle of Bull Run in July. Waud followed a Union expedition to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina the next month and witnessed the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries. That autumn, he sketched army activity in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Waud joined "Harper's Weekly" toward the end of 1861, continuing to cover the war. In 1864 Alfred's brother, William Waud (who up to that time had been working with ""Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper""), joined Alfred on the staff of "Harper's" and they worked together during the Petersburg Campaign.