Snapshots of the Past

Destruction of a railroad bridge / The War Photograph & Exhibition Company Hartford – Historic Photo Reproduction

Destruction of a railroad bridge / The War Photograph & Exhibition Company Hartford, 1864 — historic photograph
Destruction of a railroad bridge / The War Photograph & Exhibition Company Hartford, 1864. Historic photograph from the Hartford 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

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of Destruction of a railroad bridge / The War Photograph & Exhibition Company Hartford. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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Destruction of a railroad bridge / The War Photograph & Exhibition Company Hartford

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A railroad bridge lies in ruins in this stereograph, its trusses buckled and fallen, a detail that shows how completely wartime destruction could sever a line of supply and travel. Bridges like this were prime targets for both Union and Confederate forces in 1864, since cutting a rail crossing could halt troop movements and freight for days or weeks. The War Photograph and Exhibition Company, based in Hartford, sold such paired views on stereo cards, which were viewed through a hand lens to give a sense of depth. The format brought distant battlefield aftermath into parlors across the North.

Created / published1864
Medium1 photographic print on stereo card : stereograph.
NotesOriginal neg. Civil War Photograph Collection. · War Photograph and Exhibition Company publisher.
SubjectsBridges--War damage--United States. United States--History--Civil War 1861-1865--Destruction & pillage. Railroad bridges--1860-1870.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Civil War Photographs
Original scan2,668 × 1,522 px · prints to 9 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-CIV-46274

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