GMALL- Portraits of the Civil War

Christopher Dant, local writer and photographer, explores the world of Mathew Brady, the photographer who has been called the father of photojournalism. A presentation from the Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning series, "On a sweltering morning in July 1861, with approval from President Lincoln and battle commanders, portrait photographer Mathew Brady, laden with heavy horse-drawn wagons set out into the depths of Union and Confederate armies violently clashing in the First Battle of Bull Run near his home in Manassas, Virginia. What began as his imagination to capture the first images of a local light engagement grew into dangerous years of a growing war between north and south with dozens of other photographers competing for their own fame. Brady’s dream of documenting the growing American Civil War nearly ended his life, killed his followers, and in the end, ruined his career. Yet he left us some 7,000 iconic photographic plates of The Civil War, some of the most remarkable photographs in American history, at a time when photography was a curious new artform. Through it all, Brady pushed with uncertainty through the years to capture considerable fame in documenting a war that killed 620,000 men, women, and children, and to its conclusion that abruptly ended the life of our 16th President." Recording made available by GNAT-TV.