Brady's Photographic Outfit in Front of Petersburg

American photographer Mathew Brady —one of the most important documentarians of the Civil War—began his career managing several daguerreotype portraiture studios and photographing eminent Americans, including Abraham Lincoln. Beginning in 1861, Brady began his famous project to photograph the Civil War as it happened. Outfitting teams of photographers with mobile darkrooms that could be brought close to the conflict, Brady and his colleagues were able to photograph scenes from all phases of the war including a portrait of Confederate General Robert E. Lee after his defeat and famous views of Antietam.

 Unlike contemporary wartime photography, which emphasizes action in the middle of battle, photographic technology of Brady’s era required long exposure periods. Brady could not make images during battles, rather he recorded the slow movement of troops, camps, equipment, and the aftermath of battles. With their depictions of corpses strewn about battlefields, Brady’s photographs shocked audiences and marked a disturbing departure from romantic portrayals of wars past.