Mathew Brady at The Angle

[Gettysburg Greg]

Have you ever wondered why all the post battle photographs taken by Gardner, Brady, and others negleted one of the most significant locations where the battle was actually won, or lost depending on your point of view?

That's right, the Angle/Copse of Trees area was not the subject of a photographic study until 1882 when William Tipton recorded a series of 360 degree images from Hancock Avenue. Obviously, the explanation must be that the significance of the fighting here w...as not understood by the photographers of the time and that this relatively open area offered no interesting landmarks like Little Round Top and Devil's Den. Ironically, Mathew Brady did record a series of photographs less than 300 yards from the Angle at the Brian farm, yet did not point his camera in that direction. Here are a couple of photographs that illusttrate my point. The first pic shows the Brian house as seen from the Angle and the second image is a google map on which I pointed out Brady's location relative to the Angle. The insert shows one of Brady's mid July 1863 photographs. Had he turned his camera 45 degrees to the left, we could have seen the Angle as well as the Copse as it appeared during the battle. As General Lee said, "Too bad, too bad".

 

[Wallyfish]

My guess is the open terrain offered no visually interesting subjects. My personal photo collection has very few "landscape" shots of the PPT Charge field looking west. I definately have more open field shots looking east from the Virginia Monument than I do looking west from the Copse of trees/angle area.

Despite the historic importance of the PPT charge fields, I bet the period photographers had little interest in taking open field photographs. Today's excellent digital photography shows the detail of South Mountain looming to the west. But the 1863 technology didn't bring detail to long landscape shots. So was the 1863 technology lacking for sweeping landscape shots or were photos of a trampled field considered boring and not saleable? I guess the only answer is perhaps!

 

[James N.]

As I recall, probably from Frassinito who I FINALLY got around to actually reading, it's thought that Brady mistook the Bryan/Brian house for the similarly unprepossessing Liester farmhouse that served as Meade's headquarters, otherwise he wouldn'tve bothered with IT either.

 

[mofederal]

My only guess is that not one of the photographers recognized the significance of the angle. It is hard to believe they would have missed all of the destruction in the area. The dead horses, destroyed equipment, weapons, uniforms, and the other debris of war. Somehow they did, and none of their guides did either. The locals should have known. Maybe they did not consult them.

 

[James N.]

My only guess is that not one of the photographers recognized the significance of the angle. It is hard to believe they would have missed all of the destruction in the area. The dead horses, destroyed equipment, weapons, uniforms, and the other debris of war. Somehow they did, and none of their guides did either. The locals should have known. Maybe they did not consult them.

Well, evidently about the same time Alfred Waud seems to have realized it; here's his double-page-spread of Longstreet's Attack Upon Our Left Center for the Harper's Weekly edition dated August 8, 1863 (Harpers came out in the week before they're dated, making it likely the illustration actually dates to the last week in July or thereabouts):

 

[mofederal]

The newspaper reporters and artists would have to get it right. It was their job, to report the facts. At least be sort of truthful.

 

[James N.]

The newspaper reporters and artists would have to get it right. It was their job, to report the facts. At least be sort of truthful.

Since Waud was famously photographed by Alexander Gardner in Devil's Den likely fairly soon after Gardner, James Gibson, and Timothy O'Sullivan arrived you would think he might've at least clued them in, but from surviving photographic evidence either he didn't or they didn't like the subject.