Gettysburg: "Brady's Photographs of the Scene of Conflict"

On August 6, 1863, the following review appeared in the "Fine Arts" column of the New York Daily Herald, offering details on Mathew Brady's Gettysburg photographs then on display. 

THE LATE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG—BRADY'S PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SCENE OF CONFLICT, ETC.

The principal scenes of the last great battle of the Army of the Potomac, led by General Meade, with the Southern Army of Virginia, under Gen. Lee—in short, a birds eye view of the ground on which the battle of Gettysburg was fought—have just been produced by Mr. Brady with all the artistic excellence for which he is as deservedly known. A better memorial of that sanguinary conflict cannot well be imagined; and in after years, when this war shall be spoken of only in the history of the past, these faithful sketches of Brady will be invested with an impotance and patriotic beauty which at this moment can scarcely be appreciated.

The sketches, which are executed in the best style of the photographic art, are fourteen in number, and may be thus enumerated:— "Cemetery Hill," showing Dr. Holmes' tent, which the process of embalming the dead was carried on. This view is very picturesque and suggestive. The headquarters of General Meade at Gettysburg are among the finest of the views. The farmhouse which he occupied during the struggle is a perfect copy of the original, and reminds one of former experiences in Virginia. The wheatfield where Reynolds fell—a spot rendered sacred and truly memorable—cannot fail to be always attractive to the patriot in civil or in military life. There are two views of this position. The battle field of Gettysburg proper is seen from three distinct points of view—from the front, the left and the right. The woods on the left are most admirably portrayed, the cupola in the distance being plainly visible. The entrance to the cemetery and the stone fences in the vicinity are well represented; many of the broken sashes in the former place being plainly indicated.

The other most notable points of thee views are the headquarters of General Lee, a regular stone wall building of the old times. This view is another of the finest in the collection. Sugar Loaf Mountain and Pennsylvania College are also fine views. So is the view of the house of John L. Burns, which is as natural as anything can be.

On the whole, Mr. Brady has been highly successful in this enterprise, and there is scarcely a doubt that his efforts to perpetuate the memories of the battle field of Gettysburg will meet with prompt and generous public approval. 

Source:

New York Daily Herald, "The Late Battle of Gettysburg," August 6, 1863, Page 7. (Accessed through Newspapers.com)