J. Matthew Gallman (editor) - Lens of War: Exploring Iconic Photographs of the Civil War

J. MATTHEW GALLMAN AND GARY W. GALLAGHER

THOSE OF US who are fascinated by the American Civil Warreaders, authors, teachers, travelers, public historians, students arrived at that passion from many paths. This is especially true of the scholars who study the Civil War era in our professional lives. Specialists from across the academic spectrum are drawn to Americas great national conflict, both because of the huge impact the war had on our history and because the wars observers and participants left behind a wondrous mass of information in letters, diaries, memoirs, and other literary sources, allowing us to reconstruct their world and experiences. We write about battles, politics, culture, gender roles, emancipation, economic change, art, and dozens of other topics. And because the war holds such fascination for popular audiences, we have the opportunity to share our findingsand the findings of our friends and colleagues in classrooms and large auditoriums, on battlefields, in museums, and by participating in the occasional television documentary.

Whatever our core concerns, all of us who are drawn to the Civil War profit from the extraordinary photographic record documenting the conflict. The war came in the midst of rapid technological innovation in the world of photography. Shortly after Union and Confederate armies took to the field, an intrepid cohort of entrepreneurial photographers set out to document their movements and the destruction they left in their wake.