Solving a Civil War Photograph mystery

2,024 Views | 9 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by BrazosBendHorn
aalan94
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AG
Very fascinating story, and in a little way, illustrates my point in my research that digital tools can allow us to solve questions of history that were previously abandoned as unsolvable.


Solving a Civil War Photograph Mystery



Is this photo fact or fiction? The title information on the bottom left corner of the print says "General Grant at City Point," so the image claims to show General Ulysses S. Grant on horseback, in front of his troops at City Point, Virginia, during the American Civil War. But, once you look closely at the content of the photo, questions begin to surface.
Let's work through the puzzle together, and unravel the mystery. By learning to question what you see in photographs, you can become a better history detective.

Questions

Is that General Grant?
The face resembles Grant, but the head joins the body at an odd angle and the uniform seems wrong for the time period.

Corporal Punishment
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AG
-Horse in the background to the right of "Grant" is a ghost.
-Almost looks like one of the back hoofs of the horse in the foreground isn't touching the ground.
-Mr. Hiram Ulysses looks "pasted" into the foreground.

Stalin would be impressed. I think this photo is doctored.
BQ78
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AG
The Sibley Tents are a dead giveaway if it is supposed to be 1864,
Buck Compton
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AG
BQ78 said:

The Sibley Tents are a dead giveaway if it is supposed to be 1864,
How so? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibley_tent

That being said, great sleuthing there and a perfect example of the power of digital tools. Hope more like this can be uncovered in the comping years.
JABQ04
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AG
Body seems too stocky for US Grant. Too much of a belly. Like someone said, only see one star and by this point Grant has 3. I was going to mention the double breasted frock cost, but the famous pic of Grant leaning on a tree he has one on just unbuttoned.

Also as mentioned, The rider in the foreground just looks superimposed. Way to clear and everything else is too out of focus.

Edit*. Wasn't Grant left handed? I would imagine the sword should be on the other side of the horse if that was the case unless the image is reversed ( which I've seen ACW pics reversed) or if you only carry a Sabre on that side of a saddle
aalan94
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AG
If you read the full article, it addresses all of these issues. They pasted the horse and rider into the photo (it was another Union General, a 1 star, not a 3 star), and then pasted Grant's face in.

The technique used in those days was to doctor the photo by cut and paste, then take a photo of the photo.
JABQ04
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AG
Well I guess I should of read the article, but then again I don't feel so bad I caught a lot of the same things it mentioned. I'll chalk this up as a W for me.
BQ78
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AG
The Federal Army did not use Sibley Tents after 1862, they went to the shelter or Dog tents for more than two man tents.
Rabid Cougar
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AG
The photo on the header of the website is an actual photo of the wharf at City Point. The train rails ran out onto the wharf over the James River.
BQ78
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AG
I finally read the article and the last paragraph has an error. The first sentence describes correctly that it is Confederate prisoners captured at Front Royal in 1862, but then talks about Phil Sheridan, not in 1862!
BrazosBendHorn
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The good folks at Cracked.com included this in a recent article about bogus historical photos ...

https://www.cracked.com/article_26343_5-iconic-photos-from-history-that-are-totally-fake.html

Quote:

One of those images is titled "General Grant At City Point." It shows the Union general posing proudly atop a horse, looking totally unfazed after one of the Civil War's fiercest battles, while POWs are dragged across a Union encampment. It's been hung in town halls and museums since 1902, making women swoon ...

And it never happened. Likely assembled by L.C. Hardy, who made good business for himself in the early 20th century producing photos of historic veterans looking a tad more heroic than they really were, it's a composite of three different images taken of three different scenes at three different times during the war. The only part of that image that really is Grant is his head, which explains why, after such a stirring victory, he just looks vaguely constipated.

The irony is that if its purpose was to make Grant look powerful, it doesn't do its job very well. William B. Becker, creator of the online American Museum of Photography, points out that the general's men aren't paying him much attention and respect, just kind of milling around in the background and ignoring him, almost as if he wasn't there. On the Library of Congress website, it is noted that Major General Alexander McDowell McCook, the man on the horse upon whose body Grant's head is pasted, was rather more "stout around the middle" than Grant was. Moral of the story: Don't become a figure whom future people will want to deify, because they might end up making you look fat and disrespected instead.
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