Given the time of the year, a universal greeting is certainly "Peace on Earth." But sometimes it takes conflict to create unity... and the American Civil War (1861–1865) is a solid example of that. Ironically, even war can inspire the creation of works of great importance and interest. Such is the case with this remarkable lithograph I discovered at a recent New England Antique Show's event. Take a look at this rendering of a Confederate prison and its amazing detail, including a highly personal account of a soldier held captive there.
Let's map out what we have here. This is a lithograph entitled "Bird's Eye View of Confederate Prison Pen at Salisbury, N.C." from 1864. It was printed by J.H. Bufford's Sons, a company with offices in Boston, New York, and Chicago, and originally drawn by the artist C.A. Kraus in 1886. It is protected behind glass and in its original frame. The piece shows what appears to be a rather remote but well protected military installation, with armed soldiers along the periphery of the complex. You can locate barracks, administration buildings, officer's quarters, lots of tents, and of course, many soldiers and prisoners. The detail is quite amazing, which you can see in the photograph to the left.
Besides its history, age, and subject matter, one of the things that makes this piece so remarkable is that it has a hand written "diary" from an actual prisoner of this complex along the bottom of the piece. The copy is about ten lines long and is written in black ink in longhand script. You can see how it is interspaced with the printed words in the illustration above. It reads in part...
"Wm. Bradbury Ryan of Boston, MA. Enlisted in 2nd Regiment based at Providence June 13th, 1861. Arrived at Washington, DC June 22nd, 1861, at Camp Sprague. Taken prisoner by Stewart's Cavalry near Sudley Church first battle of Bull Run July 21st, 1861. Took care of wounded here at "vicinity" [battlefield].
Left here Thursday Aug. 1st 1861, arrived at Richmond, VA Sunday Aug. 4th. Confined in tobacco factory No. 2 Main St. Left Richmond Monday Nov. 25th 1861, arrived at Tuscaloosa, Dec. 2nd, 1861. Left Tuscaloosa Saturday March 1st 1862. Arrived at Salisbury, NC Friday March 14, 1862. Conveyed in cattle car, a very tedious journey of 13 days and nights. I and others rode on top of car day and night, through North and South Carolinas.
Had my violin in a cotton bag, brought through safely. Left Salisbury Friday May 30th 1862. Delivered to "Stars and Stripes" at little Washington, DC Tuesday June 3rd, 1862. On first seeing the Stars and Stripes the feeling of the boys can be better imagined than described. Arrived at Governors Island, NY by steamer June 9, 1862 remaining here awaiting discharge, Left NY Saturday June 2nd 1862. Arrived at Providence 22nd whereby dear sister Addie met me. Left for Boston with sister June 28, 1862 greeted by friends, all pleased to see me, Miss I.M. Watson in particular.
The violin mentioned above, was brought in to the prison while in Richmond by an officer of the 4th Alabama Regiment nearly demolished. It was afterwards repaired by me with a jack knife and was a source of much pleasure ever afterwards. I was frequently invited by Confederate officers to their headquarters where I played Dixie and other favorite melodies."
The violin mentioned above, was brought in to the prison while in Richmond by an officer of the 4th Alabama Regiment nearly demolished. It was afterwards repaired by me with a jack knife and was a source of much pleasure ever afterwards. I was frequently invited by Confederate officers to their headquarters where I played Dixie and other favorite melodies."
It is interesting to note how quickly this soldier went from enlistment to capture - less than six weeks. As Ryan notes, he was taken prisoner at The First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the Civil War. This conflict is also known as the First Battle of Manassas and occurred on July 21, 1861, near Manassas, VA. Overall, this battle resulted in 460 killed; 1,124 wounded; and 1,312 missing or captured for the North and 387 killed; 1,582 wounded; and 13 missing for the South. This bloody battle was quite the eye opener for both sides, especially for the North which was anticipating a fast and easy victory over their Southern adversaries. As a result of this battle, President Lincoln signed emergency legislation that provided for the enlistment of 500,000 men for up to three years of service. The illustration above of The First Battle of Bull Run is from Frank Leslie's The Soldier in Our Civil War, 1893.
I will take no prisoners in my sincere thanks to Dick Gosselin of Talking Leaves for introducing me to this highly personal piece of United States history that speaks to us all. Talking Leaves is located in Hooksett, NH and specializes in military history, old and rare books, maps, photographs, and autographs of historical importance. To learn more about this lithograph, which is priced at $20,000, please contact Dick directly at JVGBooks@comcast.net or 603-666-3083. Dick will be exhibiting at the upcoming New England Antique Show's Antiques and Vintage Holiday Gift Show, December 11th and 12th in Concord, MA. Hope to see you there!
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