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Washington D.C. Soldier springing the trap; men in trees and Capitol dome beyond – Historic Print

Washington D.C. Soldier springing the trap; men in trees and Capitol dome beyond, 1865 — historic photograph
Washington D.C. Soldier springing the trap; men in trees and Capitol dome beyond, 1865. Historic photograph from the Washington DC collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare historic photograph captures Washington D.C. Soldier springing the trap; men in trees and Capitol dome beyond in remarkable detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A fine choice for anyone who loves history, and a gift that gets noticed. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Washington D.C. Soldier springing the trap; men in trees and Capitol dome beyond

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The most striking detail here is the crowd of onlookers perched in the trees, watching a soldier spring the trap of a gallows, with the Capitol dome rising in the distance. The record ties the scene to Henry Wirz, the Confederate officer who commanded the Andersonville prison and was hanged in Washington in November 1865. Executions in that period were held at the Old Arsenal grounds, where the government also hanged the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination that summer. The photograph, issued by the Washington firm Taylor & Huntington, captures how public and heavily watched these hangings were.

Created / published1865
Medium1 negative : glass wet collodion.
NotesCivil War photographs 1861-1865 / compiled by Hirst D. Milhollen and Donald H. Mugridge Washington D.C. : Library of Congress 1977. No. 0857 Title from Milhollen and Mugridge. Forms part of Selected Civil War photographs 1861-1865 (Library of Congress) · Taylor & Huntington publisher.
SubjectsUnited States--History--Civil War 1861-1865--Detention facilities. Wirz Henry. Capitols. Hangings. Prisons.United States--District of Columbia--Washington.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Civil War Photographs
Original scan1,724 × 1,358 px · prints to 6 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-CIV-46396

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