The battle of Gettysburg
1863
Edwin Forbes was right there in the thick of the American Civil War, sketching the chaos of Gettysburg as it happened in July 1863. This quick field drawing captures the terrifying moment of Longstreet's assault on the Union lines, with puffs of cannon smoke dotting the landscape and tiny soldiers scrambling for cover. If you look closely at the bottom, Forbes scribbled notes to himself like 'Heavy white smoke rising from both lines,' ensuring he wouldn't forget the sensory details when he turned this sketch into a famous etching later. It's a raw, unfiltered snapshot of history drawn by a man who risked his life to document it.
- Technique
- pencil sketch
- Material
- paper
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