Scene of McPherson's Death, from "Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)"

Artist Kara Walker (b. 1969)

Date2005

MediumOffset lithography and silkscreen on Somerset Textured paper

DimensionsSheet Dimension: 39 × 53 in. (99.1 × 134.6 cm)
Frame Dimension: 41 × 55 × 1 3/4 in. (104.1 × 139.7 × 4.4 cm)

ClassificationsLithograph

Credit LineStephen B. Lawrence and Bette Batchelor Memorial Acquisition Funds

Terms

Object number2019.4.8

DescriptionFrom "Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)"; AP 3/10 (edition of 35 + 10 AP)

James Birdseye McPherson was a career United States Army officer who served as a general in the Union Army. During the Battle for Atlanta in 1864, McPherson was shot and killed when he unexpectedly encountered Confederate skirmishers. He became the second-highest-ranking Union officer killed in action during the war. Despite his death, the city of Atlanta was overtaken by Union troops one month later.

This Harper’s illustration depicts the aftermath of McPherson’s death. The site is littered with remains of the battle, including cannonballs, wagon wheels, and a horse’s skeleton. Superimposed over this image, Walker’s silhouette of a youth looking in shock at his severed foot captures the mayhem and brutality of the era.

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