Dorothy A. Nicholson
13 January 2006
After the war he returned to New York where he began to utilize
his wartime sketches to produce copper-plate etchings that were first published
without text in 1876 as Life Studies of the Great Army. It received an
award at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. After his death the Library
of Congress acquired Forbes originals through a gift of John Pierpont Morgan in
1919. They included about 300 drawings as well as forty-three etched plates and
the original impressions used in Life Studies of the Great Army.
Forbes, Edwin, Dawson, W.
Forrest, ed. [Life Studies of the Great Army] A Civil War Artist at
the Front: Edwin Forbes’ Life Studies of the Great Army. New York, Oxford
University Press, c1957. General Collection: NE2195.F6 D33 1957
The subjects for the illustrations are mostly soldiers
engaged in everyday activities, a few combat scenes, and some depictions of slaves.
Because of the fragile condition of the book it was dis-bound.
This particular version is missing Plate 37. The remaining 39 prints have been
matted and are stored in numerical order with the book boards.
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CONTENTS
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CONTAINER
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Book boards for Life Studies
of the Great Army with descriptive index inside front cover
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PART 1.
Plate 1.
The Reveille on the Line of Battle.
Representing the line of battle at daylight. The regimental bugler stands on
the crest of the hill playing the reveille to arouse the troops, who are
lying on the ground wrapped in their blankets. In the middle distance a
battery is seen in position with “caissons” and “limbers” to the rear.
Tattoo in Camp.
A moonlight scene. The regimental drum corps is beating “tattoo,” the signal
for the men to retire to their tents. “Taps,” the signal for “lights out,”
follows half an hour later.
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Plate 2.
The Commissary’s Quarters in Winter Camp.
The Commissary Sergeant is seen in the foreground weighing out rations of
meat for the company cook. The structure on the left is an improvised stable
built of pine boughs.
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Plate 3.
Through the Wilderness.
A battery of artillery dragged through the mud during a spring rain-storm.
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Plate 4.
A Wagoner’s Shanty.
Winter Camp.
The Deserted Picket-hut.
Winter Camp.
Mud Huts.
Winter Camp
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PART 2.
Plate 5.
The Pontoon Bridges.
The army crossing a river and closing up in column on the hill, while the
advance is pushing into the woods, which have caught fire from exploded
cartridges.
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Plate 6.
A Thirsty Crowd at the Old Spring House.
A scene on the line of march during a hot day.
A Race for Camp.
Newsboys passing the picket station while on the road to camp with the latest
news.
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Plate 7.
The Leader of the Herd.
Cattle for army use led by a Zouave butcher. Across the road, under the pine
trees, can be seen the graves of two Union soldiers, who have been killed in
a roadside skirmish.
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Plate 8.
A Rainy Day on Picket.
An infantry-man sheltered behind a pine-tree, with his rifle under his arm to
protect it from the rain.
Washing Day.
A soldier with his latest wash hung out to dry on the barrel of his rifle. In
the distance the column is seen on the march.
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PART 3.
Plate 9.
A Christmas Dinner.
A scene on the outer picket line. A soldier off duty is cooking his frugal
meal in front of an improvised shelter made of pine-boughs and fence-rails.
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Plate 10.
A Slave Cabin.
The Old Grist Mill.
“Got any pies for sale, Aunty?”
A party straggling from the line of march in search of the luxuries of
the season.
[Sam]
[A Picaninny]
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Plate 11.
The Newspaper Correspondent.
Riding to send off his dispatches with news of a battle, ahead of rival
correspondents.
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Plate 12.
Coffee Coolers.
A party of stragglers from the column which is seen marching over the
hill in the distance. These are the men who always shirked a battle, and were
to be found with their regiments only when rations were to be served out, at
a safe distance from the enemy.
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PART 4.
Plate 13.
Officers’ Winter Quarters.
Waiting for dinner after dress parade. In the doorway the sergeant of the
guard is seen reporting to the officer of the day.
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Plate 14.
A Scene on the Roadside near Summer Camp.
Two cavalrymen, who have just returned from a scout, are having their
horses shod.
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Plate 15.
Returning from Outpost Duty.
A scene in winter camp. A squad of troops have just returned from the picket
line and are seeking their quarters.
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Plate 16.
A Night March.
The army going into action through the pine woods. In the foreground a tree
has been fired to give light for the march, and over the distant woods dense
volumes of smoke are rolling up, the underbrush having caught fire from
burning cartridges.
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PART 5.
Plate 17.
A Halt in Line of Battle.
The line, having advanced and driven the enemy, whose dead are lying in
front, is “dressing up,” while a reinforcing column can be seen coming over
the hill in the distance. Shells from the enemy’s batteries are bursting in
the air.
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Plate 18.
The Rear of the Column.
Stragglers and wagon guards are bringing up the rear, while the wagon train
is seen coming down the distant hill, with flankers thrown out to protect it
from the enemy’s horsemen.
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Plate 19.
Stuck in the Mud.
A pontoon wagon with boat fast in a slough. A regiment of infantry is pulling
on a rope attached to the head of the team, trying to drag them to firmer
ground.
A Flank March Across Country during a Thunder Shower.
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Plate 20.
Fall in for Soup—Company Mess.
A scene in winter camp, giving a general idea of the style of huts built and
occupied by the troops. A wagon train is coming down the road form the
distant camp on its way to the depot for forage.
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PART 6.
Plate 21.
Going into Camp at Night.
The fields on all sides are covered with troops who are engaged in cooking
supper, the column in the road marching on and disappearing over the hill in
the distance.
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Plate 22.
On Picket at the River Bank.
An Old Saw Mill.
Waiting for Something to Turn Up.
A scene behind the breastworks during a lull in the battle. The troops
defending this position of the line are sleeping under their shelter-tents or
lounging under the shade of the trees and house. In a tree, beyond the house,
a lookout is posted to give warning of the advance of the enemy.
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Plate 23.
The “Reliable Contraband.”
A scene at the cavalry outpost. In the foreground a negro, “leading an old
horse,” is seen hesitatingly imparting to anxious officers what little
information he possesses of the enemy’s movements. Cavalrymen and their horse
are grouped about the house in the middle ground, and in the distance a vidette
is sitting on his horse watching the road through the woods, in anticipation
of the approach of the enemy.
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Plate 24.
Home, Sweet Home.
A scene in winter camp. Two soldiers sitting in front of their quarters, which
are built with logs plastered with clay, and covered with canvas. The soldier
sitting on the drum is playing the old tune on an improvised fiddle made from
a cigar box, while the younger sits leaning against the mud chimney, which is
crowned with a ploughshare to keep the smoke from blowing into the tent.
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PART 7.
Plate 25.
A Distant Battle.
Seen at distance of about six miles. In the foreground is an abandoned
breastwork: and on the road to the left a column of troops is seen hurrying
toward the sound of distant cannon.
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Plate 26.
A Cavalry Charge.
An advance against the enemy’s guns, which are posted on the hill. The
enemy’s line has met the charge, and is trying to save the guns, which are
hurrying to the rear.
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Plate 27.
A Hot Day.
Soldiers grouped about a gun in position, and sleeping under a shelter.
Beef Steak Rare.
A Straggler.
Always sick when a fight is expected.
A Quiet Nibble on the Cavalry Skirmish Lines.
A Cavalry Orderly Waiting Orders.
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Plate 28.
Newspapers in Camp.
The newsman is sitting on horseback, surrounded by men who are buying and
reading the latest “news from the front,” as it comes from the rear.
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PART 8.
Plate 29.
A Watched Pot never Boils. The Captain’s Cook.
A Hearty Supper on the Battle Field.
Drummer Boys.
Halted on the road.
Played Out.
Two foot-sore and used-up soldiers have dropped out of the column and fallen
asleep at the foot of a tree, while the rear of the detachment is seen
disappearing up the road.
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Plate 30.
Coming into the Lines.
A party of slaves have taken massa’s old schooner (wagon) and with a “spike”
team, have started for the Union lines. They are passing the picket post. On
the distant hill some laggards appear in sight, one waving his hat for joy as
he catches sight of “Massa Linkum’s sodgers.”
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Plate 31.
The Supply Train.
“Hard tack and salt horse’ for the army.
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Plate 32.
“Gone off with the Yanks.”
A deserted negro cabin.
A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey.
A Scouting Party.
An Old Campaigner.
A darkey cook with the mess mule.
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PART 9.
Plate 33.
The Outer Picket Line, Winter.
A general view overlooking the enemy’s country.
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Plate 34.
A Lull in the Fight.
A scene behind the breastworks. Officers and men are grouped about the guns,
while some of the latter are playing cards, cooking, and amusing themselves
generally. In the centre of the picture a squad of prisoners is seen coming
in from the front under guard.
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Plate 35.
Traffic Between the Lines.
Pickets trading for coffee and tobacco between the fortified lines during a
truce. The enemy’s works (protected by abattis and cheveaux-de-frise) are
seen in the background, with groups of soldiers on the parapet.
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Plate 36.
Going into Action.
A battery of artillery, under the enemy’s fire, dashing up the hill and
taking position.
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PART 10.
Plate 37.
An Advance of the Cavalry Skirmish Line.
Clearing the way while the main body is moving forward in support.
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Missing from collection
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Plate 38.
Fording a River.
Infantry are wading the stream at the ford, with a line of cavalry posted
below to catch any unlucky soldier who may be carried away by the force of
the current.
Twenty Minutes Halt.
A column of troops, while on the march, have been halted for rest, and are
lying about under the trees and in the road.
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Plate 39.
“Bummers.”
“They’re ‘Johnnies,’ boys, as sure as you’re born.” A group of bummers on
horse and muleback, huddled in the road, anxiously watching a body of men who
have just appeared at a turn in the road.
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Plate 40.
The Sanctuary.
A negro family has just come in sight of the fortified lines of the Union
army. The old mother has thrown herself on her knees, praising the Lord,
while the rest of the family are grouped behind, contemplating the scene in
silent wonder.
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