Giving Comfort

[guad42]

Today as I was looking over the hats seen in a number of LOC images I noticed something that I found particularly striking in the often reproduced and published image of wounded soldiers near Savage Station. The shot has been discussed numerous times and as a photograph is very well composed. Your eye is drawn to the men at the low center, treating a wounded man, etc. But today I noticed something that I had not seen in the photo before. In the left center there is what appears to be a wounded man being comforted by a Federal sergeant. The wounded man's hand is drawn over his eyes, perhaps to block out the sun, but also in a gesture that seems to convey great pain or sadness. The look on the sergeant's face seems to show genuine concern for what may very well be a comrade, or in the least a fellow soldier.

I guess I find this very striking because while many original photos show a sense of quiet defiance, dignity and attitude, very few original Civil War images seem to include convey a sense of raw emotion. Without trying to go overboard here it reminds me of photos taken in WWII. Indeed, you'd probably miss this in the wider, full version of the photo we're used to seeing as a dollar bill size snapshot in books. But after seeing the high-res digital version...well this may have just become one of my favorite images of the war.

-Sam Dolan
GivingComfort.jpg

[sodapop63]

Sam, I completely agree with you. I find it particularly striking given the WWII reference, on the 68th anniversary of D-Day. I've seen many photos of wounded soldiers from other wars in that very position, with a hand raised over the eyes. But until now, I have never seen an image from the Civil War like this. It would seem the only thing that changes are the uniforms. The "brothers-in-arms" concern is the same...always. Thank you for sharing this highly emotional photo "zoom." I too believe it has become one of my favorite CW images.

[Curt Schmidt]

Hallo!

68th.

Curt

[LibertyHallVols]

Sam,

Wow! Thank you for this post! That image is as relevant today as it was when it was taken, truly transcending time and place.

Could I ask you to post the reference information for the image, or perhaps a link? I would love to see the larger context.

Thank you, again!

[guad42]

Greetings John,

Here's the link and below I have typed the reference information:

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collecti...6/PP/resource/

# Title: Savage Station, Virginia. Union field hospital after the battle of June 27
# Creator(s): Gibson, James F., b. 1828, photographer
# Date Created/Published: 1862 June.
# Medium: 1 negative : glass, stereograph, wet collodion ; 4 x 10 in.
# Summary: Photo shows a makeshift field hospital with wounded soldiers sitting and lying on the ground while some receive care. Includes the straw-hatted Sixteenth New York Infantry who fought at Gaines' Mill on June 27. Most were captured when Confederates overtook the area during the battle of Savage's Station on June 29. (Source: Bob Zeller, Civil War in Depth, v. 1, p. 34)

The first time I noticed this photo was in Stephen Sears' book "To the Gates of Richmond" and I was always somewhat fond of it. I suppose it made me think of my 3rd Great Grandfather who was wounded during the fighting on the 25th. I had never taken the time to look closely at the high res image though until yesterday. I'm glad that I did.

-Sam Dolan

[GreencoatCross]

There also appears to be a man laying down against the tree at center, with a blanket on a stick covering him from the sun.

[LibertyHallVols]

Thank you for posting that information! There are so many gems out there in the high-res versions of these pictures. Its fun to see new finds related to gear, uniforms, or drill, but this is a real glimpse into the human side that we often miss, especially when so much was "staged" or "posed" at the time.

[YankeeTiger]

Wow..I admit I have never noticed that in this image...completely changes the entire image for me... just wow
THanks for posting.