Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1882-05-04
The Camera on the Battle Field

"My first experience in photograph
ing the dead" said Philadelphia pho
tographer, "was on the battle field OF
Antietam. 1t was a warm September
morning, three days after the great
fight. I had boy with me to assist in
preparing the chemicals. He only
worked for an hour. With boyish curl
osity he went poking about, and picked
up an unexploded shell. He was then
Oil the bank of the creek, about half a
mile off. 1 never knew how it hap
pened, but the bomb exploded, and al
most blew him to pieces. A little col
ored boy came up to where was wait
ing for the boys return, and complete
" unneryed me by shouting Say. bos,
de red-headed gemmen has done gone
and blowed himself up wifi a shell T
He was bright, intelligent boy, and
felt his loss keenly, but I pressed the
colored boy into service, and went to
work.
"It would be useless to go over the
scene of that carnage again-to tell OF
the CHASTITY after-sights of that awful
fight, which made SO many widows and
orphans. / was nervous and excited,
and you can depend it did not tend to
quiet my nerves when / unwittingly
planted one leg of my stand on
the chest Of dead Union drummer
boy ] By some means he had been
partly buried in a patch Of soft soil.
Nothing was visible but the buttons on
his blouse and one foot. l changed
my position rather hastily. A dark
room was improvised by hanging amy
blankets down from the limbs OF low
tree and after taking four negatives
I packed up my traps and started for
Philadelphia. 1t was slow and dan
gerous journey !; but l made it safely,
and went to work printing pictures.
They sold like wild-fre at fifty cents
and 81 each. was nearly $4,000 in
pocket in less than two weeks, and de-
termined. to repeat the programme after
the next big battle. It came with Fred.
ericksburg. Ny anxiety to get view
Of the field after the retreat Of the
Union army led to trouble. I was cap.
tured by three Confederate stragglers,
and taken down the Rappahannoct in 9
row-boat. They suspected me to be 9
spy, | suppose, and the photographine
apparatus merely blind. At any rate
the valuable camera, chemicals, glass
and everything else were dumped into
the river. I was taken before Genera.
Lee, personally, and charged with being
Union spy. No explanation availed
anything, it was not even believed that
/ was photographer. One Of Genera
Lees staff-l think his name was Muir
ray proposed that I should be tested
An aide-de-camp galloped off and pro
cured the necessary apparatus, and ]
photographed the Confederate Genera
and his entire staff. on day cold
enough to freeze the words in mans
month. The officers were evidently
impressed with the idea Of my inno-
cence. A short consultation followed,
and then General Lee himself said tc
me: Sir, it appears that you are simply
engaged in earning livelihood. and
believe. honestly. You are at liberty.
was blindfolded, put back in the
boat, and landed within twenty miles
Of where Burnside had his winter guar
ters. From that day to this I never
knew where I was. Here Is the picture
of Lee and his staff. and the photog
rapher exhibited the faded likenes:
which had probably saved bis life