Destruction of Hood's Ordnance Train, Atlanta

Artist George N. Barnard (American, 1819 - 1902)

Date1864

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsImage and sheet: 10 × 14 1/16 inches (25.4 × 35.72 cm)
Mount: 16 1/8 × 19 15/16 inches (40.96 × 50.64 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.323

SignedArtist's attribution on mount recto, bottom, in black type: "Photo from nature By G.N. Barnard."

InscribedTitled on mount recto, bottom, in black type: "DESTRUCTION OF HOOD'S ORDINANCE TRAIN"

Markingsnone

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DescriptionImage of two rail lines severed with fragments scattered across the dusty landscape; a man stands near the center. Rows of wheels line the far end of the tracks and three columns stand against a tree-lined horizon on the right.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

Barnard enjoyed a 40-year career as a photographer, beginning as a daguerreotypist in 1846. One of the most active Civil War photographers, Barnard is best known for his documentation of General William T. Sherman's campaigns in the western theater of the war. Barnard accompanied Sherman's forces during the occupation of Atlanta and the infamous March to the Sea, in the summer and fall of 1864.

This haunting scene was recorded in Atlanta, soon after Sherman's troops took the city. This photograph depicts the silent remains of an ammunition train torched by the retreating Confederates to keep the valuable shot and gunpowder from falling into Union hands.

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