Woodchoppers' Huts in a Virginia Forest. On the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Wood Supplied U.S.M.R. Railroads under Supervision of Major Brayton

June 1863

Not on view

Commissioned by the United States Military Railroad to document all its operations, Russell seized the opportunity to record perhaps the most curious habitations of the Civil War: the crude, teepee-shaped mud and timber dwellings built by migratory woodcutters along the forested route of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad in northern Virginia. The habitations were constructed and primarily inhabited by African American men employed by the Union army to chop timber for railroad ties and bridges and fuel for military locomotives.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Woodchoppers' Huts in a Virginia Forest. On the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Wood Supplied U.S.M.R. Railroads under Supervision of Major Brayton
Artist: Andrew Joseph Russell (American, 1830–1902)
Date: June 1863
Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions: Image: 9 3/8 × 12 7/8 in. (23.8 × 32.7 cm)
Sheet: 9 3/8 × 12 7/8 in. (23.8 × 32.7 cm)
Primary mount: 13 in. × 17 11/16 in. (33 × 45 cm)
Secondary mount: 13 1/4 in. × 17 11/16 in. (33.6 × 45 cm)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc. Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2019
Object Number: 2019.483
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

By Andrew Joseph Russell

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Confederate Prisoners for Exchange, Cox's Landing, James River

Andrew Joseph Russell

Mathew B. Brady

1861–65

City Point, Virginia, Andrew Joseph Russell American, Albumen silver print from glass negative — City Point, Virginia
Andrew Joseph Russell
Mathew B. Brady
1861–65

Terminus of U.S. Military Railroad, City Point, Virginia, Andrew Joseph Russell American, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Terminus of U.S. Military Railroad, City Point, Virginia
Andrew Joseph Russell
Mathew B. Brady
1861–65

Excavating for "Y" at Devereaux Station, Orange & Alexandria Railroad, Andrew Joseph Russell American, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Excavating for "Y" at Devereaux Station, Orange & Alexandria Railroad
Andrew Joseph Russell
Mathew B. Brady
1863

Pontoon Bridge at Deep Bottom, James River, Andrew Joseph Russell American, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Pontoon Bridge at Deep Bottom, James River
Andrew Joseph Russell
Mathew B. Brady
1864

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.