Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Alfred Waud's Hampton Roads Civil War Sketches, Part 1

One of the most accomplished battlefield artist of the American Civil War was Alfred Waud. Working under a contract to provide rough sketches for Harper's Weekly, (that were later turned into the paper's famous woodcut engravings), Waud was present for almost every major ground action in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The Library of Congress is the caretaker of a large portion of Waud's drawings and has digitized several hundred sketches. 

Waud visited Hampton Roads in late 1861 to cover the Hatteras Expedition.  Here are a few examples of what he saw:
Gunboat USS Whitehall

Various ships anchored next to Fort Monroe

Steam frigate USS Minnesota, Fort Monroe, and the Rip Raps
Sloop-of-war USS Cumberland

USS Cumberland, USS Savannah, and shore batteries exchanging shots with CSS Yorktown

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