Skip to main content
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.
Artillery, Fort Totten, Defenses of Washington, D.C.
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.

Artillery, Fort Totten, Defenses of Washington, D.C.

Artist Mathew B. Brady (American, 1823-1896)
Publisher Alexander Gardner (American (born Scotland), 1821 - 1882)
Publisher Philp and Solomons, Washington, D.C. (American)
Date1865
MediumAlbumen print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 10 3/8 × 15 7/8 in. (26.4 × 40.3 cm)
Overall, Support: 16 11/16 × 20 1/16 in. (42.4 × 51 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 1/8 × 28 1/8 in. (61.3 × 71.4 cm)
ClassificationsPhotography
Credit LineGift of David L. Hack and Museum purchase, with funds from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange
Object number98.32.17
Terms
  • U.S. Civil War
  • Documentary
  • Washington, DC
Collections
On View
Not on view
DescriptionThe David L. Hack Civil War Photography Collection. A photograph which exhibits a large grass and dirt area, enclosed by a low wall. Several soldiers are standing about. There are four artillery cannons lined against the wall with soldiers standing ready to fire. There are two planks of wood in the foreground, perhaps for use in arming the cannons. There is also one man not dressed in military uniform, but rather a suit and top hat. He is by the second cannon from the front of the photograph. (Hack Collection No. 192).

Label Text*New Acquisition Mathew B. Brady American (1823-1896) Artillery, Fort Totten, Defenses of Washington, D.C., 1865 Albumen print Gift of David L. Hack and by exchange Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 98.32.17 One of the most well-known photographic entrepreneurs of the 19th century, Mathew Brady became famous for his portraits of politicians and celebrities. He owned galleries in New York and Washington in which he employed accomplished operators who maintained a high level of quality. Brady personally took few, if any, of the photographs that bear his studio name. However, he achieved much notoriety for financing the first comprehensive photographic documentation of the Civil War. Edited By: GLY Edited Date: 09/2004 Approved By: MHM Approval Date: 09/21/2005