Relics of War: The History of a Photograph

"In 1865, Raab notes, Clara Barton, the future founder of the American Red Cross, paid a visit to the notorious Confederate prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. During her visit to this site, Barton came across several belongings of prisoners of war, which she collected. The majority of these relics, including, among others, whittled spoons, woven reed plates, a piece from the prison's 'dead line', and a tattered Bible, belonged to the missing and the dead soldiers."

"Centered on the period of the American Civil War, Relics of War: The History of a Photograph is unique in that, rather than focusing merely on the political facets of the War, it examines the impact it had on the lives of the common people, particularly the foot soldiers. Moving away from the established narratives, this work discusses the ramifications of the War through a photograph."

A single Civil War photograph anchors an exploration of soldiers' personal relics recovered from Andersonville prison in 1865. Clara Barton collected whittled spoons, woven reed plates, a fragment of the prison's 'dead line', and a tattered Bible from prisoners' belongings and transported the artifacts to the Missing Soldiers Office in Washington, DC. The relics function as material evidence of suffering, loss, and improvised survival among foot soldiers. Presentations of the collection to politicians, journalists, and the public shaped remembrance practices and political responses. The photograph and its associated objects illuminate the war's moral weight and cultural afterlives.

Read at World History Encyclopedia