"A Sharpshooter's Last Sleep"
7/6/1863
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On July 5, 1863, photographer Alexander Gardner and his assistant, Timothy O'Sullivan, arrived at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle had ended two days earlier. On parts of the battlefield, bodies were still unburied. Over the next three days, Gardner did not hesitate to photograph the carnage.
On July 6, when he saw the body of a Confederate soldier in an area called "Devil’s Den," he photographed it, as seen in this picture. Gardner and O’Sullivan then saw an opportunity for another, more dramatic photograph. They moved the corpse more than 40 yards to what they believed to have been the sharpshooter’s position, and O'Sullivan made another exposure, "The Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter."
The photographs became two of the most famous of the Civil War, but for over 100 years historians did not question the captions Gardner wrote for them in his Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War. These described a "sharpshooter" who had died a slow death and who had spent his final moments thinking of his family. Gardner also wrote that when he returned to Gettysburg in November 1863, the body and the gun were still there.
In 1975, historian William A. Frassanito examined the photographs. He demonstrated that the body in both was the same person. The gun was probably a prop as it was not the type of gun a sharpshooter was likely to have used. Furthermore, it was impossible that a body would have remained unburied for months or that a rifle would have escaped relic hunters.
On July 6, when he saw the body of a Confederate soldier in an area called "Devil’s Den," he photographed it, as seen in this picture. Gardner and O’Sullivan then saw an opportunity for another, more dramatic photograph. They moved the corpse more than 40 yards to what they believed to have been the sharpshooter’s position, and O'Sullivan made another exposure, "The Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter."
The photographs became two of the most famous of the Civil War, but for over 100 years historians did not question the captions Gardner wrote for them in his Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War. These described a "sharpshooter" who had died a slow death and who had spent his final moments thinking of his family. Gardner also wrote that when he returned to Gettysburg in November 1863, the body and the gun were still there.
In 1975, historian William A. Frassanito examined the photographs. He demonstrated that the body in both was the same person. The gun was probably a prop as it was not the type of gun a sharpshooter was likely to have used. Furthermore, it was impossible that a body would have remained unburied for months or that a rifle would have escaped relic hunters.
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
National Archives Identifier: 533314
Full Citation: Photograph 165-SB-40; Pennsylvania, Gettysburg. A Sharpshooter's Last Sleep; 7/6/1863; "Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War," by Alexander Gardner, ca. 1861 - ca. 1865; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/sharpshooters-last-sleep, April 27, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.