Robert Gray
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2012
First published in Miller's Photographic History of the Civil War in 1911 [Volume 1, Page 102], this image was identified as Confederates enlisting at the Natchez courthouse early in 1861. Recently, while examining digital files in the Louisiana State University Libraries Special Collections, I found the original image and another print that cast doubt on these men being Confederates.
The Union Army occupied the City of Natchez after the fall of Vicksburg in 1863. Henry and M.J. Gurney of Natchez recorded the occupation in a series of photographs that were preserved by the William E. Stewart family. One shows Union troops standing in front of the courthouse and is numbered 188. If you compare this with the number seen on Miller's photo and the original [186] it appears both were added by the same person, presumably the photographer. Also the shadows of the trees against the building are similar in both views. I am now of the belief that these images were recorded at about the same time and do not show Confederates as opinied in Miller's 1911 publication. Of course, this is just my own guess, and I could be wrong.
Images:
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR
Frances T. Miller - Editor in Chief - The Review of Reviews Co.
1911
Thomas H. and Joan W. Gandy Photograph Collection
The Union Army occupied the City of Natchez after the fall of Vicksburg in 1863. Henry and M.J. Gurney of Natchez recorded the occupation in a series of photographs that were preserved by the William E. Stewart family. One shows Union troops standing in front of the courthouse and is numbered 188. If you compare this with the number seen on Miller's photo and the original [186] it appears both were added by the same person, presumably the photographer. Also the shadows of the trees against the building are similar in both views. I am now of the belief that these images were recorded at about the same time and do not show Confederates as opinied in Miller's 1911 publication. Of course, this is just my own guess, and I could be wrong.
Images:
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR
Frances T. Miller - Editor in Chief - The Review of Reviews Co.
1911
Thomas H. and Joan W. Gandy Photograph Collection