[The Wilderness Battlefield]
1864
![[The Wilderness Battlefield] by Unknown](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/the-wilderness-battlefield-306604.webp)
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 5 in. × 3 1/4 in. (12.7 × 8.2 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.944.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the tangled underbrush of 1864 with *[The Wilderness Battlefield]*, a poignant albumen silver print capturing the eerie aftermath of one of the American Civil War's bloodiest clashes. Fought from May 5-7 in Virginia's dense Wilderness forest, this brutal engagement pitted Union General Ulysses S. Grant against Confederate Robert E. Lee. The thick woods obscured lines of sight, turning the battle into a chaotic inferno of gunfire and flames that consumed the wounded—resulting in over 28,000 casualties in just two days. This small yet haunting image (5 × 3¼ inches) preserves the site's...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...