Alexander Gardner Biography

Alexander Gardner The American Civil War, fought between 1861 and 1865, brought untold levels of death and suffering to the american people. But, this era brought about incredible technological advancements, such as the telegraph and the ironclad warship. One of these inventions was the camera, created in the 1830s. The first war to be photographed was the 1853-1856 Crimean War, but it would only be a short 5 years before tensions between the Northern and Southern states led to the outbreak of war. The new advent of war photography would display the horrors of this war to the american public. One of the pioneers of this new form of photography would go down in history, as Alexander Gardner. Alexander Gardner was born in Scotland in 1821.
Portraits were a popular item for soldiers, so that they would have something to send back to their worried families. But Alexander’s real claim to fame was in the war photography. Gardner and his employer were some of the first to take pictures of battlefields after the battles took place. Eventually, he stopped working with Brady in 1863 over an issue with crediting pictures. Brady had taken credit for every picture Gardner took. Under General George B. Mcclellan, Gardner would photograph the battles of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the siege of Petersburg, and Antietam. Gardner also took the supposed last picture of Abraham Lincoln before his assassination, and took photos at the execution of the assassination plot’s co-conspirators. It was later revealed that he had not taken the last photo, but the myth still remains. He was even granted the title of captain in November 1861, ten years after he started his photography
It has been shown that the scene of the picture was altered before it was taken, with the Confederate soldier's corpse being moved and his head being propped up so he could be seen better. He also propped Gardner’s own rifle against one of the rocks. While this is a very big faux pas now, in the early years of photography it wasn’t as prevalent This picture feels very cozy, which is fitting given it’s title as the Sharpshooter’s Home (or den, as Gardner himself called it). The rocks are used to frame the corpse, to instill this feeling. The color can only be so vibrant, given that this was taken before color photography, but it appears bright enough to illuminate the scene while not revealing what lies on the ground. You might not even notice the sharpshooter at first, and it can be quite an unnerving sight.
Photo 2

Abraham Lincoln
This is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and it was believed that it was the last photo of the president alive. This was proven to not be true, but the fact that the negative cracked could be seen as prophetic of the man’s 1865