The massive mortality rates of the American Civil War challenged mid-nineteenth century Americans' understandings and relationship with death. Faced with inadequate methods of individual identification and record-keeping that were unable to keep up with the overwhelming mobilization of both men and resources that the war demanded, many soldiers simply disappeared or were buried under a stone marked "unknown." Even soldiers who kept their names died far from home, away from family, in a manner that challenged nineteenth century traditions of death. These factors caused many soldiers to seek some manner of permanence to ensure that their name would not be forgotten following death. This project examines the ways in which soldiers used visual culture, particularly graffiti, drawings, and studio photographs, to find permanence amidst the destruction and death of war.
By looking at the subjects of and the ways that soldiers used the visual culture they created, this thesis seeks to understand the value of visual culture as both an outlet for soldiers of the Civil War and as an invaluable source for historical research today. This project first explores the role of religion as both a subject of and an influence on visual culture. It then moves on to examine how soldiers used visual culture as a means finding permanence, including as a means of claiming a place in and piece of the war and as a form of memorialization. By examining the power of visual culture for finding permanence, this project provides insight into the ways in which soldiers sought to remember each other and their own experiences while also adding to the human conversation on mortality. / Master of Arts / The American Civil War brought an unprecedented amount of death and destruction that left the military largely unable to keep up with the many dead and wounded. Overwhelmed by the logistical realities of war, many soldiers died unknown, far from home. As a result, many soldiers sought some means of permanence in the face of death. This thesis examines the visual culture, particularly the graffiti, drawings, and studio photography that soldiers created and the ways in which those pieces of visual culture reflect soldiers’ views of death and permanence. It begins by examining the “what” of visual culture, examining the place of religion as a subject and an influence on soldiers’ visual culture. It then studies the “how” by studying the ways in which soldiers used their visual culture to claim their place in the war and to remember each other and themselves in the event of death.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/84344 |
| Date | 22 July 2018 |
| Creators | Brown, Katelyn O'Halloran |
| Contributors | History, Quigley, Paul, Luther, Kurt, Van Hook, Bailey, Kiechle, Melanie A. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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