Gruesome Battle of Gettysburg Scene of Dead Union Soldier "The Horrors of War"

Gruesome Gettysburg – “The Horrors of War” Albumen Photograph of a Dead Union Soldier in the Wheatfield
 
This powerful and extremely graphic albumen photograph captures one of the most haunting images from the Battle of Gettysburg. It shows the mutilated body of a Union soldier who was literally torn apart by a Confederate artillery shell. The soldier lies on the battlefield in the Wheatfield, one of the most fiercely contested areas during the three-day battle.
 
A contemporary printed caption beneath the image reads: “A Union soldier on the battle-field of Gettysburg, torn to pieces, by a Confederate shell. The negative, from which this picture was made was taken in the Wheat field, five days after the battle. This was only one, of many thousand, such scenes at the battle of Gettysburg.”
Taken on July 8, 1863, just five days after the fighting ended, this photograph belongs to the earliest visual records of the aftermath of Gettysburg. The stark, unflinching view of the soldier’s shattered remains perfectly embodies the true “Horrors of War” and stands as one of the most gruesome and memorable images to come out of the American Civil War.
 
This albumen print is a rare surviving example of a photograph that was intentionally produced and sold to the public in the 1860s to show the brutal reality of the conflict. Such graphic battlefield views were highly controversial at the time and remain among the most sought-after images by serious Gettysburg and Civil War photography collectors. The image mount measures 5 by 8 inches.