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Life Studies of the Great Army [print portfolio -- incomplete set]

20 of 40 copperplate etchings made by Forbes while accompanying Union armies. Complete set under GLC02199. The condition of this collection is not as good as the complete set listed above.

GLC08653

The reveille on the line of battle

Marked "Plate 1." Contains two images. Top half is titled "The Reveille on the Line of Battle," and the bottom half is titled "Tattoo in Camp." Top half depicts the line of battle at daylight. The regimental bugler stands on the crest of the hill...

GLC08653.01

Commissary's Quarters in Winter Camp

Marked "Plate 2." The commissary sergeant is in the foreground weighing out rations of meat for the company cook. Structure to the left is an improvised stable built of pine boughs.The camp contains a log cabin and is situated on a lake, which is...

GLC08653.02

A wagoner's shanty

Marked "Plate 4." Contains 3 separate images. Upper left image is titled "A wagoner's shanty," and shows a winter camp of a wagoner. The wagoner is chopping a log in front of his log cabin, which has an overhang of crossed branches and brush. At the...

GLC08653.03

The pontoon bridges

Marked "Plate 5." Depicts an army crossing two pontoon bridges over a river and closing up into column on a hill. The advance is pushing through the woods, which have caught fire. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.7 x 40.4 cm...

GLC08653.04

A thirsty crowd at the old spring house

Marked "Plate 6." Contains 2 images. Top half is titled "A Thirsty Crowd at the Old Spring House," and shows scene on the line of march on a hot day. Most of the men are in Zouave uniforms. Bottom half is titled "Newspapers for the Army - A Race for...

GLC08653.05

The leader of the herd

Marked "Plate 7." Depicts cattle for army use being led by a Zouave butcher. Three other men with whips are riding along the line of cattle, which extends out of the view of the picture. Across the road can be seen the graves of two Union soldiers...

GLC08653.06

A Christmas dinner

Marked "Plate 9." A lonely image of the outer picket line. An off-duty soldier next to a make shift shelter of pine boughs and fence rails cooks a meager meal and is tries to keep his hands warm. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.8 x...

GLC08653.07

The newspaper correspondent

Marked "Plate 11." Shows a rider traveling down a road in a forest with dispatches with news of a battle, ahead of a rival correspondent. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.5 x 40.3 cm. Outline from matting is faintly visible. Titles...

GLC08653.08

A scene on the roadside near summer camp

Marked "Plate 14." Depicts two calvarymen, who have just returned from scouting, having their horses shod. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.7 x 40.4 cm. Outline from matting is faintly visible. Title and image information taken from...

GLC08653.09

The rear of the column

Marked "Plate 18." Depicts stragglers and wagon guards bringing up the rear while the wagon train is seen coming down the distant hill, with flankers thrown out to protect it from the enemy's horseman. Depicts a black man, possibly a freed slave...

GLC08653.10

Stuck in the mud

Marked "Plate 19." Contains 2 images. Top half titled "Stuck in the Mud," depicts a pontoon wagon with a boat stuck fast in the mud. A regiment of infantry is pulling on a rope attached to the head of the team, trying to drag them to firmer ground...

GLC08653.11

On picket at the river bank

Marked "Plate 22." Has 3 images. Upper left image is titled "On Picket at the River Bank," and shows several large trees along the edge of a river with a solider standing next to one of them. Upper right image is titled "An Old Saw Mill," and shows...

GLC08653.12

The "Reliable Contraband"

Marked "Plate 23." A scene at the cavalry outpost. In the foreground a black runaway slave, a contraband of war, is leading an old horse and is seen hesitatingly imparting to anxious officers what little information he posses of the enemy's movements...

GLC08653.13

A distant battle

Marked "Plate 25." Battle seen from a distance of about 6 miles. In the foreground is an abandoned breastwork; and on the road to the left a column of troops is seen hurrying toward the sound and smoke of distant cannon. Actual size of the image...

GLC08653.14

A hot day

Marked "Plate 27." Group of five images. Upper left is titled "A Hot Day," and depicts soldiers grouped about a gun in position, and sleeping under a shelter. Upper right is titled "Beef Steak Rare," and shows a grizzled soldier in camp holding a...

GLC08653.15

Newspapers in camp

Marked "Plate 28." The newsman is sitting on horseback, surrounded by men in camp who are buying and reading the latest news from the front as it comes from the rear. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.9 x 40.3 cm. Outline from...

GLC08653.16

Gone off with the Yanks

Marked "Plate 32." Contains 4 images. Upper left image is titled "Gone off with the Yanks," and shows what appears to be an abandoned slave shack. Upper right image is titled "A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey," and shows soldiers appearing to...

GLC08653.17

The outer picket line, winter

Marked "Plate 33." A stunning landscape with several tents and men in the foreground. The mountains dominate the background. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.4 x 40.2 cm. Outline from matting is faintly visible. Title and image...

GLC08653.18

Traffic between the lines

Marked "Plate 35." Depicts pickets trading for coffee and tobacco between the fortified lines during a truce. the enemy's works, protected by abattis and cheveaux-de-frise, are seen in the background, with groups of soldiers on the parapet. The...

GLC08653.19

Bummers

Marked "Plate 39." A group of cavalrymen huddles on a road, watching a body of men who have just appeared at the turn in a road. One says, "They're 'Johnnies,' boys, as sure as you're born." Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.3 x 40.3...

GLC08653.20

Commissary's Quarters in Winter Camp

Marked "Plate 2." The commissary sergeant is in the foreground weighing out rations of meat for the company cook. Structure to the left is an improvised stable built of pine boughs. The camp contains a log cabin and is situated on a lake, which is...

GLC02199.02

Through the Wilderness

Marked "Plate 3." Depicts a team of 5 horses being whipped by their riders as they drag a wagon of supplies and a piece of artillery along a muddy lane in the forest. The wagon wheels are caked with mud. The body of a dead horse lies in the lower...

GLC02199.03

A Wagoner's Shanty

Marked "Plate 4." Contains 3 separate images. Upper left image is titled "A wagoner's shanty," and shows a winter camp of a wagoner. The wagoner is chopping a log in front of his log cabin, which has an overhang of crossed branches and brush. At the...

GLC02199.04

The Leader of the Herd

Marked "Plate 7." Depicts cattle for army use being led by a Zouave butcher. Three other men with whips are riding along the line of cattle, which extends out of the view of the picture. Across the road can be seen the graves of two Union soldiers...

GLC02199.07