Covered Ways inside the Rebel Fort Mahone, Called by the Soldiers "Fort Damnation," Petersburgh, Virginia
April 2, 1865
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 3 1/16 in. × 6 in. (7.7 × 15.3 cm) Sheet: 3 1/16 in. × 6 in. (7.7 × 15.3 cm) Mount: 8 3/8 in. × 17 11/16 in. (21.3 × 45 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc. Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2019
Accession Number
2019.541
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking albumen silver print captures the interior of Fort Mahone, a key Confederate stronghold outside Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865—just days before the fall of the city and General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Known to Union soldiers as “Fort Damnation,” the fort’s labyrinth of covered ways, trenches, and earthworks is shown in stark detail, revealing the grim engineering of siege warfare. Photographed by Thomas C. Roche for the E. & H. T. Anthony firm, the image belongs to a remarkable series of battlefield views made in the final weeks of the Civil War. Roche worked with the wet-plate collodion process, producing glass negatives that yielded the rich tonal range seen in this albumen print. His on-the-spot documentation helped shape the public’s understanding of the conflict, moving beyond studio portraits to show the actual terrain and fortifications soldiers endured. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 2019, the photograph stands as both a historical record and an early example of war photography’s power to convey the scale and desolation of battle.
About the Artist
E. & H. T. Anthony|Thomas C. Roche ( |American) · | – |
|American