50 Most Powerful Images Of The Civil War

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The 50 Most Powerful Images from the Civil War shows what the truly gruesome reality of the Civil War was. Many people like to romanticize the war, but these photographs take all the romance away. It depicts hardship, lost love, and bloodshed. These pictures are truly powerful.
The very first image depicts a runaway slave, Gordon. His back is covered in welts and lash marks. His back is completely scourged. According to Frank H. Goodyear III, assistant curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, Gordon had received these lashes for unknown reasons in 1862. While Gordon was healing from the welts, he had devised a plan to escape the plantation he was held at.
In March of 1863, Gordon fled toward the Mississippi River. When his master had found out he fled, he recruited several men and hounds to hunt him …show more content…

Gordon ended up enlisting in the Union Army. During his medical examination, the military doctors discovered the scars on his back. This was when McPherson and Oliver had asked Gordon to take a picture of his back.
I believe the photograph of Gordon is so powerful because it made people face the harsh reality that he and many other go through. Gordon’s case was not usual for a slave. Many slave owners would beat their slaves senseless. Gordon’s story is also one of perseverance and hope. He was able to make it to safety. His story could have inspired many others to do the same as him.
It is because of Gordon and others like him, that the Union was able to win the war. On
April 9, 1864 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union Army at Appomattox Courthouse to General Ulysses S. Grant. The meeting was less than two hours long. The men agreed officers and enlisted men in the Confederate army would be free, but all equipment would be confiscated.
I believe it is very interesting how the surrender occurred. It was done in a small room.

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