Alexander Gardner Biography

Alexander Gardner The American Civil War, fought between 1861 and 1865, brought untold levels of death and suffering to the american people. But, this era brought about incredible technological advancements, such as the telegraph and the ironclad warship. One of these inventions was the camera, created in the 1830s. The first war to be photographed was the 1853-1856 Crimean War, but it would only be a short 5 years before tensions between the Northern and Southern states led to the outbreak of war. The new advent of war photography would display the horrors of this war to the american public. One of the pioneers of this new form of photography would go down in history, as Alexander Gardner. Alexander Gardner was born in Scotland in 1821.
He would move to Glasgow with his family, before going to the United States with his brother in 1850. There, he and James would set up a cooperative community in Iowa, and Alexander would go on to own Glasgow’s second largest newspaper. In 1851, he began to experiment with the art of photography after seeing the work of Matthew Brady. He would eventually fully immigrate to the US in 1856. He found work with Brady, and he would rise up in the ranks, going from making large prints to being in charge of the entire photo gallery in 1858. Things got better and better for the then-36 year old Alexander, as north-south relations got worse and worse. In just 3 short years, 11 southern states would secede from the union and reorganize into a new country. The new Confederate States of America would then fire upon the South Carolinian Fort Sumter, kickstarting one of the bloodiest wars in US history.
The work of a photographer stops for no war, and Gardner learned that lesson very well.
Portraits were a popular item for soldiers, so that they would have something to send back to their worried families. But Alexander’s real claim to fame was in the war photography. Gardner and his employer were some of the first to take pictures of battlefields after the battles took place. Eventually, he stopped working with Brady in 1863 over an issue with crediting pictures. Brady had taken credit for every picture Gardner took. Under General George B. Mcclellan, Gardner would photograph the battles of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the siege of Petersburg, and Antietam. Gardner also took the supposed last picture of Abraham Lincoln before his assassination, and took photos at the execution of the assassination plot’s co-conspirators. It was later revealed that he had not taken the last photo, but the myth still remains. He was even granted the title of captain in November 1861, ten years after he started his photography
career.
Alexander Gardner published his war photos in Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War in 1866, and became the official photographer for the Union Pacific Railroad, before retiring from the career as a whole in 1871. Gardner died in 1882, 17 years after the war that made him famous. Today, his pictures are some of the most well known depictions of the Civil War.

Photo #1

“Home of The Rebel Sharpshooter”
This picture was taken during the war, after the Battle of Gettysburg.
It has been shown that the scene of the picture was altered before it was taken, with the Confederate soldier's corpse being moved and his head being propped up so he could be seen better. He also propped Gardner’s own rifle against one of the rocks. While this is a very big faux pas now, in the early years of photography it wasn’t as prevalent This picture feels very cozy, which is fitting given it’s title as the Sharpshooter’s Home (or den, as Gardner himself called it). The rocks are used to frame the corpse, to instill this feeling. The color can only be so vibrant, given that this was taken before color photography, but it appears bright enough to illuminate the scene while not revealing what lies on the ground. You might not even notice the sharpshooter at first, and it can be quite an unnerving sight.
Photo 2

Abraham Lincoln
This is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and it was believed that it was the last photo of the president alive. This was proven to not be true, but the fact that the negative cracked could be seen as prophetic of the man’s 1865
assassination.
This picture is incredibly candid, and captures all the extra years the Civil War added to Lincoln’s face. The slight blurring, or vignette, effect on the edges of his clothing especially draw attention to this, be de-emphasizing everything but lincoln’s face.
Picture 3

Hanging of The Lincoln Conspirators
A landscape shot featuring the hangings of those involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Andrew Johnson and William H. Seward. The 4 pictured executed criminals are Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt.
A lot about this picture makes it rather morbid. The subject matter, the slight warping around the edges, and the broken glass negative in the corner all contribute to this feeling. I feel that the hanging could have been in the center more, but it’s possible that Gardner couldn’t choose where he shot. Overall, it’s a very morbid picture for a very morbid event in American history