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Lot Essay
Infamous for the gruesome living conditions and high mortality rate, Andersonville prison was the largest of the Confederate military camps and imprisoned the highest population of Union soldiers. Located in Andersonville, Georgia, and formally titled Camp Sumter, the prison was erected in early 1864 and operated for 14 months. Of the 45,000 soldiers incarcerated there, almost a third of them did not survive.
Set along the Prison Branch river, the present work encapsulates the devastating circumstances at Andersonville. The artist’s perspective facing north allows an unobstructed view of the stockade. The perimeter is flanked with towering walls armed by Confederate soldiers ready to strike if a prisoner nears too close. The endless rows of blue brushstrokes across the stockade portray the crammed living quarters. Inadequate housing is exemplified through the crammed scanty wooden structures lining the far prison wall and the makeshift shelters of cloth and scrap wood scattered across the stockade, some of which shield injured or dead soldiers underneath. Designed to hold only 10,000 soldiers, Andersonville housed 33,000 soldiers in August of 1864. Disease, lack of sanitation and a scarce food and water supply were further tragedies prisoners experienced. The endless rows of soldiers within the stockyard is a stark contrast to the open woodlands just beyond the prison walls. Yet, outside the walls are no less cruel. A Union soldier attempting to escape along the river appears caught by beastly hounds. Just above him, a wagon is filled to the brim with presumably Union soldiers’ bodies. Another crosses the river in rags, escorted by Confederates.
Corporal Samuel J. Gibson (1833-1878) writes in his journal on June 28th, 1864 while imprisoned at Andersonville, “If this is not Hell itself, it must be pandemonium; which is only Hell Gate. Heaven forbid I should ever see a worse place.” (Gibson, Samuel J.. Samuel J. Gibson diary and correspondence (1864), available at www.loc.gov/item/mss52410001/). This dynamic scene of Andersonville prison offers insight into another tragic side of the Civil War. While Union and Confederate soldiers fought on the battlefield, imprisoned soldiers fought to survive within camp walls amid otherwise inhumane settings.
The present work is after a sketch by incarcerated soldier John Burns Walker, Co. G of the 141st Pennsylvania Regiment. The sketch was later transferred to lithograph and published by Thomas S. Sinclair in 1864.
Robert and Marjorie Hirshhorn were passionate American Folk Art collectors and acquired the preeminent collection of American marquetry. Their collection was exhibited At the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM), where Robert also served as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Set along the Prison Branch river, the present work encapsulates the devastating circumstances at Andersonville. The artist’s perspective facing north allows an unobstructed view of the stockade. The perimeter is flanked with towering walls armed by Confederate soldiers ready to strike if a prisoner nears too close. The endless rows of blue brushstrokes across the stockade portray the crammed living quarters. Inadequate housing is exemplified through the crammed scanty wooden structures lining the far prison wall and the makeshift shelters of cloth and scrap wood scattered across the stockade, some of which shield injured or dead soldiers underneath. Designed to hold only 10,000 soldiers, Andersonville housed 33,000 soldiers in August of 1864. Disease, lack of sanitation and a scarce food and water supply were further tragedies prisoners experienced. The endless rows of soldiers within the stockyard is a stark contrast to the open woodlands just beyond the prison walls. Yet, outside the walls are no less cruel. A Union soldier attempting to escape along the river appears caught by beastly hounds. Just above him, a wagon is filled to the brim with presumably Union soldiers’ bodies. Another crosses the river in rags, escorted by Confederates.
Corporal Samuel J. Gibson (1833-1878) writes in his journal on June 28th, 1864 while imprisoned at Andersonville, “If this is not Hell itself, it must be pandemonium; which is only Hell Gate. Heaven forbid I should ever see a worse place.” (Gibson, Samuel J.. Samuel J. Gibson diary and correspondence (1864), available at www.loc.gov/item/mss52410001/). This dynamic scene of Andersonville prison offers insight into another tragic side of the Civil War. While Union and Confederate soldiers fought on the battlefield, imprisoned soldiers fought to survive within camp walls amid otherwise inhumane settings.
The present work is after a sketch by incarcerated soldier John Burns Walker, Co. G of the 141st Pennsylvania Regiment. The sketch was later transferred to lithograph and published by Thomas S. Sinclair in 1864.
Robert and Marjorie Hirshhorn were passionate American Folk Art collectors and acquired the preeminent collection of American marquetry. Their collection was exhibited At the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM), where Robert also served as a member of the Board of Trustees.