Cotton Burners on the Borders of SW Tennessee & Mississippi Surprised by Federal Scouts [Near Memphis, Tennessee, 1862 May-June]

  • Creator: Frank Vizetelly
  • Title: Cotton Burners on the Borders of SW Tennessee & Mississippi Surprised by Federal Scouts [Near Memphis, Tennessee, 1862 May-June]
  • Date: 1862
  • Description: :This charcoal and colored crayon drawing depicts an action scene of men burning bales of cotton. A two story house appears in the middle ground of the image. In the far distance what appear to be soldiers are galloping in on horseback.
  • Historical Note: The artist wrote on the reverse of this drawing: "Cotton Burners on the border of SW Tennessee and Mississippi surprised by Federal Scouts." Frank Vizetelly (1830-1883) was a British artist and war reporter for the Illustrated London News. This drawing comes from a collection of his work in Harvard University's Houghton Library (MS Am 1585) that includes 29 Civil War drawings. Here he described the scene of Confederate partisans surprised by the Indiana cavalry while destroying bales of cotton as "frightened whites and negroes looked on from the house." The image was published as a wood engraving in the Illustrated London News on August 9, 1862. Vizetelly was later banned from traveling with the Union Army by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton after he portrayed Union troops fleeing at the Battle of Manassas. According to historian Douglas W. Bostick, the artist spent the latter part of the war sketching scenes more in sympathy with the Confederate cause.
  • Institution: Houghton Library, Harvard University
  • Publisher: Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
  • Rights: Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact the Houghton Library, Harvard University.
  • URL: http://cdm15838.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/shades
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