ticketsMember | Make a donation

Relics of Andersonville Prison

Photography Studio Brady & Co. American
June 1866
Not on view
Clara Barton, the first president of the American Red Cross, began her philanthropic career by distributing supplies for the relief of wounded soldiers during the Civil War. At its close, she organized the first bureau of records in Washington, D.C., to aid in the search for missing men. In connection with this work, Barton identified and marked the graves of more than 12,000 soldiers in the National Cemetery at Andersonville, Georgia. The site of the most notorious Confederate prison, Andersonville was one of the most deadly places in the war. Of the more than 40,000 Union soldiers imprisoned, 13,000 died of starvation and disease-a ratio of one in three.

To support her effort for proper burial of the Andersonville dead, and to raise money for veteran relief in general, Barton displayed and sold souvenirs of Andersonville. As early as 1866, the year this photograph was copyrighted by Brady, Barton discovered that veterans had already begun to collect relics of the war. Carefully identified by descriptive labels and placed on a crudely built stepped display, the artifacts are a heinous spectacle, a brutal tableau composed for the camera to attract alms from survivors. The largest item for sale was a portion of the infamous Dead Line, a wooden fence that prisoners were prohibited from crossing on pain of death.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Relics of Andersonville Prison
  • Photography Studio: Brady & Co. (American, active 1840s–1880s)
  • Date: June 1866
  • Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
  • Dimensions: Image:22.1 x 18.9cm (8 11/16 x 7 7/16in.)
    Mount: 13 9/16 × 10 9/16 in. (34.5 × 26.9 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, Joseph M. Cohen Gift, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.100.98
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Francis Alofsen, Brady & Co. American, Daguerreotype with applied color
Francis Alofsen
Brady & Co.
1855
Rebel Prisoners, Gettysburg, Brady & Co. American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Rebel Prisoners, Gettysburg
Brady & Co.
E. & H. T. Anthony
July 1863
Slave Pen, Alexandria, Virginia, Brady & Co. American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Slave Pen, Alexandria, Virginia
Brady & Co.
E. & H. T. Anthony
1862
[Major General William Tecumseh Sherman Wearing Mourning Armband], Brady & Co. American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
[Major General William Tecumseh Sherman Wearing Mourning Armband]
Brady & Co.
1865
[Bearded Man], Brady & Co. American, Daguerreotype with applied color
[Bearded Man]
Brady & Co.
1853–57

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

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.