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Lulah Falls, Lookout Mountain, Georgia

1864–65
Not on view
On first glance, this photograph of Lulah Falls appears to be an idyllic landscape of an imposing, rocky waterfall. On closer inspection, however, one notices that the figures—some standing at attention for the photographer, others sprawled casually on the boulders in the foreground—are Union soldiers. Here is a view of the Civil War in striking contrast to the scenes of fortifications, camps, bridges, and destruction so prolifically documented by the camera during that era. The photographer, Isaac H. Bonsall of Cincinnati, served in the Union's Army of the Cumberland as a staff photographer beginning in September 1862. His initial duties were to photograph maps at their headquarters in Cincinnati, but he later traveled with the army to Tennessee, broadening his subject matter to include portraiture and war-related landscape along the way. During the Union's six-month siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1863, Bonsall spent his time photographing the areas surrounding nearby battle sites such as Lookout Mountain, where the Army of the Cumberland contributed to a Union victory on November 24, 1863. Lulah Falls, situated on the south side of the mountain in northwest Georgia, was, for a moment, worlds away from the war.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lulah Falls, Lookout Mountain, Georgia
  • Artist: Isaac H. Bonsall (American, 1833–1909)
  • Date: 1864–65
  • Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
  • Dimensions: Image: 21.2 x 26.6 cm (8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Celia Tompkins Hegyi Gift, 2007
  • Object Number: 2007.392
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

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[Lula Lake and Upper Falls on Rock Creek, near Lookout Mountain, Georgia], Isaac H. Bonsall American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
[Lula Lake and Upper Falls on Rock Creek, near Lookout Mountain, Georgia]
Isaac H. Bonsall
1864–65
The Town on the Hill, New Almaden, Carleton E. Watkins American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
The Town on the Hill, New Almaden
Carleton E. Watkins
1863
View on the Columbia, Cascades, Carleton E. Watkins American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
View on the Columbia, Cascades
Carleton E. Watkins
1867
Black Cañon, From Camp 8, Looking Above, Timothy H. O'Sullivan American, born Ireland, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Black Cañon, From Camp 8, Looking Above
Timothy H. O'Sullivan
1871
Ruins of Gallego Flour Mills, Richmond, Alexander Gardner American, Scottish, Albumen silver prints from glass negatives
Ruins of Gallego Flour Mills, Richmond
Alexander Gardner
Mathew B. Brady
1865

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