Gardner’s photographs were the first time an American battlefield had ever been photographed with many of the dead still on the field. Gardner, 41 years old at the time of the battle, was employed by Mathew Brady's studio in Washington, DC.
Library of Congress Image cwpb 04327 from Gardner Negative.Gardner’s photos include four taken of Burnside Bridge. I have attempted to discover Gardner’s camera position and recreate those shots. The results provide a glimpse of how much (or little) the area has changed in nearly 150 years.
Gardner’s Burnside Bridge (follow link to Gardner’s photo)
This would be the same view seen by many of the attacking soldiers in Burnside's command.Clicking on the photos will take you to its page in my Flickr photoset where you can see a full size image. You can also locate the camera position on a google map or satellite image by following the “Taken in: (map)” link found under Additional Information on that page.
Clicking on the link that is the photo's title will take you to Alexander Gardner's historic photo for comparison.
Gardner’s Burnside Bridge 2 (to Gardner’s photo)
Now that I know the spot, I can return with my tripod and attempt to duplicate Gardner’s long exposure time.Gardner’s Burnside Bridge 3 (to Gardner’s photo)
I believe the fence is a bit closer to the bank of the Antietam creek in Gardner’s shot.Gardner’s Burnside Bridge 4 (to Gardner’s photo)
I have found Gardner’s position for this shot but I have missed on the time of day.You can see 30 of Gardner’s photographs on the National Park Service Antietam webpage here:
Historic Photographs by Alexander Gardner
The photos can be seen as a slide show or in a gallery of downloadable 3000 x 2400 pixel images.
Follow this link to see a slideshow of some of my recent Antietam Battlefield photos:
LostBob’s Antietam Battlefield Photoset
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