"A Bit of War History:" An Artistic Response to War.

"A Bit of War History," by Thomas Waterman Wood, 1866

Courtesy of Wally Gobetz, New York, 2008.

In deciding which artistic piece I would review for this assignment, I first thought of the many songs of protest and criticism from the Vietnam war era, the 1960's and 1970's. Then, I asked my husband to name his favorite "war movie" because I knew he had watched many. I don't have one that I'm very familiar with, and I started to reject the idea of critiquing a movie because it meant I'd have to watch one. I joked that I could review one of the Sylvester Stallone "Rambo" movies that I had seen, but I know from experience that trying to write a paper of academic merit based on something that is not-so-academic is tougher than just continuing the search.

Finally, a string of internet keywords brought me to a marvelous narrated presentation on the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art website entitled, "Lincoln and the Civil War." I viewed most of its paintings for the very first time, and agreed they all were valuable historical representations. However, midway through the slideshow, I saw a trio of images that I had to go back to see again and again. These are paintings by Thomas Waterman Wood, done in 1866. Together, they are called, "A Bit of War History;" individually, they are entitled, "The Contraband," "The Recruit," and "The Veteran." 

Completed just after the end of the Civil War, this set of paintings by Thomas Waterman Wood, upon which Wood garnered his first accolades as a painter, spotlights a Black American soldier before, during and after enlistment in the Union Army.

Blacks (both free people and former slaves) were first allowed to join the Union Army and Navy starting around July, 1862. Three years later, when the Civil War ended, 179,000 Black soldiers had served in the Army, making 10% of the total number. An additional 19,000 Black sailors had served in the Navy (National Archives, n.d.). While Wood's depiction caught my attention as unique, accurately speaking, the experience of the pictured soldier was relatively common.

Please proceed to each of the next posts to see the paintings and read my accompanying analysis.
"The Contraband"
"The Recruit"
"The Veteran"