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. In this etching two scenes are shown. On the viewer's left is an infantry man sheltered behind a pine tree with his rifle under his arm to protect it from the rain while he stands watch. The artist's signature is etched into the lower left corner of the plate. The scene to the viewer's right depicts a soldier with his latest wash hung out to dry on the barrel of his rifle while he is on the march with his column. The artist's signature is etched into the lower right corner of the plate. This is Plate 8 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