Confederate Commanders

Mike Serpa

Major
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
ConfederateCommanders.png
 
have seen this photo in the past. Think it to be a montage of several images combined to make this one. Anyone agree? Disagree?

I do agree! I also think it was a very early form of Photo Shop. Jefferson Davis looked much older at the time Lee looked the way he did on that picture. But just great! I would like to store it somewhere ...
May I ask an ignorant question? Or two? Who is the guy in the painting on the wall? (My guess would be Albert Sidney Johnston, but I'm absolutely not sure about him). And is the one standing next to Joe Johnston P.G.T. Beauregard?
 
I do agree! I also think it was a very early form of Photo Shop. Jefferson Davis looked much older at the time Lee looked the way he did on that picture. But just great! I would like to store it somewhere ...
May I ask an ignorant question? Or two? Who is the guy in the painting on the wall? (My guess would be Albert Sidney Johnston, but I'm absolutely not sure about him). And is the one standing next to Joe Johnston P.G.T. Beauregard?
Yes, that's Sidney Johnston on the wall, and yes that an older Beauregard beside Joe Johnston.

Funny how they chose to put Sidney Johnston in a painting on the wall, but Stonewall, JEB, and AP Hill, all of whom also died during the war, are shown as being "present" there in the montage...
 
It's a very interesting montage, and I have seen it before. Please note the lower title block that says "with compliments of Travelers Insurance Company." The montage may have been produced as an advertisement for Travelers. To carry this further, a number of former confederate officers became insurance salesmen or executives after the war. I can't recall offhand which ones but maybe somebody can?
 
I love this, it's like the Civil War era version of that painting with James Dean and Marilyn Monroe and some other people in a diner. So tacky, but so much fun. John Bell Hood at the back looks like he's waiting to take your drink order.
 
I do agree! I also think it was a very early form of Photo Shop. Jefferson Davis looked much older at the time Lee looked the way he did on that picture. But just great! I would like to store it somewhere ...
May I ask an ignorant question? Or two? Who is the guy in the painting on the wall? (My guess would be Albert Sidney Johnston, but I'm absolutely not sure about him). And is the one standing next to Joe Johnston P.G.T. Beauregard?

If you look at the bottom of the image just above:

Confederate Commanders
With Compliments of the Travelers Insurance Company

You will see the names (although small) of those depicted (except the man in the frame)

Top row: Hood, Stuart, Longstreet, J.E. Johnston
Bottom Row A.P. Hill, Davis, Jackson, Lee, Beauregard

That image does seem to be derived from this image of A.S. Johnston though.

Albert_S_Johnston.jpg
 
Here is a larger version of the Union image so that the names can be read:

card.png


Top row: Sherman, Thomas, Mead, Hooker, Sheridan
Bottom Row Farragut, Lincoln, Grant, Hancock

I'm not sure of who is in the frame, perhaps Winfield Scott?

Interesting that Grant is not depicted in uniform. By the time of this print he had been president, but you think since it was depicting Civil War commanders it would show him in uniform.
 
Seems this kind of thing was popular at the time.

Here is ones done of Union and Confederate commanders in 1884 by Sherman Publishing

02749v.jpg


02748v.jpg


and my favorite by Kurz and Allison in 1885. I wish the quality of the art was as good as the others, but I like seeing them altogether and the addition of the horses is a nice touch. I do wish they had paid a bit more attention to the horses though. Particularly with Grant and Lee, those horses are well known and these do not appear to be correct.
01870v.jpg
 
If you look at the bottom of the image just above:

Confederate Commanders
With Compliments of the Travelers Insurance Company

You will see the names (although small) of those depicted (except the man in the frame)

Top row: Hood, Stuart, Longstreet, J.E. Johnston
Bottom Row A.P. Hill, Davis, Jackson, Lee, Beauregard

That image does seem to be derived from this image of A.S. Johnston though.

Albert_S_Johnston.jpg

Thank you. But I may say that I was pretty proud of me that I knew everyone in the picture, but was not sure about Old Bory and at a complete guess about Albert Sydney Johnston. Two years ago I did not even know if Lee was Union or Confederate, and even worse, I did not even care :D ... so I've learned quite a lot here.
You all taught me very well, thank you!!
 
It's a very interesting montage, and I have seen it before. Please note the lower title block that says "with compliments of Travelers Insurance Company." The montage may have been produced as an advertisement for Travelers. To carry this further, a number of former confederate officers became insurance salesmen or executives after the war. I can't recall offhand which ones but maybe somebody can?

Joe Johnston did for sure. And reading the biographies of these former officers and commanders I come to think nearly all of them later worked for an insurance company or a railroad company. Given the fact that according to a very recent study here in Germany insurance agents nowadays have the worst reputation of all professions, that seems quite odd...
 
Here is a larger version of the Union image so that the names can be read:

card.png


Top row: Sherman, Thomas, Mead, Hooker, Sheridan
Bottom Row Farragut, Lincoln, Grant, Hancock

I'm not sure of who is in the frame, perhaps Winfield Scott?

Interesting that Grant is not depicted in uniform. By the time of this print he had been president, but you think since it was depicting Civil War commanders it would show him in uniform.

Yes, but if it were period accurate, Lincoln would not be alive.
 
Yes, this is a very skillfully done composite. Amazing to me because the original work copy must have literally been a cut and paste job.

Mike, thanks for posting this!

It does look like a cut and paste job, but the technology of the day was fairly primitive. It is more likely an engraving done from original prints and then extended or enhanced to add detail. For example the image of Stonewall Jackson does not extend that far.

If you look at some of the Harper's weekly from the war they often would have the identical image as an engraving that had appeared as a photo. The ability to publish photographs in those days was limited to just photo stock paper and would not have been possible on a poster such as this.
 
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