Bachelder, John B. (1825-1894) Gettysburg. Repulse of Longstreet's Assault
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02131.02 Author/Creator: Bachelder, John B. (1825-1894) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Print Date: 1876 Pagination: 1 engraving : b&w ; 69 x 119 cm. Order a Copy
Wide panoramic view at the moment of the repulse of Longstreet's (actually Pickett's) charge at the Battle of Gettysburg 1-3 July 1863. Large black and white steel engraving (papier colle) based on the larger painting by James Walker and painted under Bachelder's supervision. Viewed across a vast series of fields and small hills. Portions of the background appear etched. The Walker painting is reproduced in Holzer and Neely, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: The Civil War in Art, pp. 128-129. (Sauers notes that the original painting is 7.5 x 20 feet.) Holzer-Neely identify Lewis A. Armistead, foreground, right center, and George G. Meade, center, right with field glasses. Engraved by H.B. Hall Jr., published by Bachelder. Uncolored.
Bachelder was an artist, historian, and printmaker fascinated with the Battle of Gettysburg. He was selected by Congress to be the battle's official historian. Bachelder enlisted in the 3rd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Artillery, Company A on 2 December 1863 as a Cooper. He mustered out 18 September 1865 as an Artificer.
Bachelder and Walker visited the site shortly after battle and interviewed many soldiers and generals. Bachelder wrote that this "scene has not its equal in America, for correctness of design or accuracy of execution." Bachelder printed a "Descriptive Key to the Painting" (Boston, 1870). See also: Richard Allen Sauers. "John B. Bachelder: Government Historian of the Battle of Gettysburg." Gettysburg [magazine], no. 3 (1 July 1990): 115-127.
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