Gettysburg Greg
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2010
- Location
- Decatur, Illinois
It is common knowledge that the body seen in Gardner's iconic image of the sharpshooter's nest was also photographed in a second location 72 yards away. Whether the body was move to or from the sniper's position is a subject of much discussion and some disagreement, but that is not the controversy I am focusing on in this post. I would like my fellow photo sleuths to take a look at these two Gardner photographs that show the same body fro m different perspectives. Notice the dead Confederate soldier in the left photo is the same one seen in the photo on the right which includes a second fallen soldier. I would like you to notice that the large crack in the boulder behind the man appears to line up with the center of the man's chest. Now check out the location of the same man in the right hand photo compared to the crack. My first reaction on seeing this was to think that unquestionably, the body was moved between exposures. You might notice that the prop rifle placed there by the photographer has definitely been repositioned. Being aware that historians/authors Tim Smith and Garry Adelman commonly say that the sharpshooter is the only case where a body was repositioned and photographed, I ran this by Tim I appreciated the fact that he took the time to respond. According to Tim, the illusion that the body was moved is a result of the different angles between the two shots. Since then there have been others who claim they can prove the body was, indeed, moved and have presented some compelling evidence that has made me question Tim's assertion. Take a look for yourselves and then I'd be interested in hearing your opinions. . I have studied these images carefully under high magnification and what I see has me leaning towards believing the body has NOT been moved, but I will save that observation until I hear what some of my friends here believe. For orientation purposes, I will also include my then and now of this location.