The lull in the fight.
1876
Edwin Forbes captured the quiet, exhausting moments between battles in this 1876 print, part of his famous 'Life Studies of the Great Army' series based on his sketches from the American Civil War. Instead of glorifying combat, he shows Union soldiers slumping against fences, napping, and staring blankly while smoke still rises in the distance—a gritty, realistic look at the human toll of war. Forbes was actually an official artist for the Army of the Potomac, giving him a front-row seat to these weary scenes that he later turned into powerful historical records.