Thursday, May 29, 2008

Soldier Artist




Soldier, Hero & Artist Charles W. Reed

Abraham Lincoln at City Point, Virginia, 1865
Charles Wellington Reed (1841-1926)

Charles W. Reed was a soldier artist in the Civil War. What is more, he earned the nation's highest medal, the Medal of Honor, for an action at the Battle of Gettysburg.

MOH, Authorized Version until 1895

A rather confused link, but with numerous thumbnail images of Reed's artwork.

It seems that Reed, an enlisted bugler, was rather a "Johnny on the spot," having been present at key battles and for great events. Among those events he witnessed were Gettysburg, the illustrated review of common soldiers by the president, and no less than General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. His illustrations were published after the war.

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