Alfred Waud

Alfred Waud in 1863 at Devil's Den after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Photographed by Timothy H. O'Sullivan

Quick Facts

Significance:

Civil War Battlefield Artist

Place of Birth:

London, England

Date of Birth:

October 2, 1828

Place of Death:

Marietta, Georgia

Date of Death:

April 6, 1891

Place of Burial:

Marietta, Georgia

Cemetery Name:

Saint James Episcopal Cemetery and Cremation Gardens

Alfred Robert Waud was born October 2, 1828 in London, England, immigrating to the United States in 1850.

When we think of American Civil War and its documentation, our minds often jump to the battlefield photographs taken by familiar names such as Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and Timothy O’Sullivan. Photos of the aftermath of battle brought the realities of wartime death and destruction directly to the American public. However, due to the cumbersome nature of the equipment and the slowness of the exposure process, photography was an inept medium for capturing scenes of active battle. For this reason, artists were sent to the field to create detailed sketches of the action which were then engraved and printed in publications.

Alfred Waud was one such artist. Assigned to the Army of the Potomac as a “special artist,” Waud was present at every one of its major battles between the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 and the Siege of Petersburg in 1865. His detailed sketches of events in real time forever made permanent the chaotic moments of gunfire and bloodshed.

In 1888, Waud was hired to illustrate, “Mountain Campaigns in Georgia or War Scenes on the Western and Atlantic,” a booklet designed to promote travel by veterans who had campaigned in the South during the War. Waud moved to Georgia and began creating drawings based on his recollections and eyewitness accounts. Below are two such images of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.

Waud passed away of a heart attack in Marietta, GA at the age of 62 before any of his post-war paintings of Western Theater battlefields could be completed. Waud is buried at the Saint James Episcopal Cemetery and Cremation Gardens in Marietta, Georgia.