Description

This copper etching was done from Forbes' original sketches done on the Civil War battlefields as the special artist for "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" from 1862-1864. This etching features two scenes in the life of soldiers on the move. The top scene, Fording a River, depicts the infantry wading the stream at the ford with a line of cavalry posted below to catch any unlucky soldier who may be carried away by the force of the current. The scene below, "Twenty Minutes Halt," depicts a column of troops halted for a rest during a march. Many of the soldiers are lying at the sides of the roads while a few are resting under trees. The wagons are lined up along the roadside. The artist's initials are etched into the lower left corner of the image. This is Plate 38 of 40 in the Life Studies of the Great Army by Edwin Forbes, copyrighted by him in 1876, and published for subscribers by Henry J. Johnson, New York. Part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum