Explore the Strategy
Apply the Strategy
You will now have the opportunity to apply the strategy by analyzing a Civil War photograph to determine the authenticity of the scene it depicts.
Title:
Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter (A Dead Confederate Sharpshooter in Devil's Den)
- Step 1:
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Look at this photograph and write down your initial observations. Consider the following questions as you interpret the image:
- Who is in the photo?
- What do you think happened?
- What does the title mean?
- What does the title imply about how you might understand the image?
- Step 2:
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Next, analyze the image. Use the following questions, as well as any additional questions that you would want to include in your own viewing tool, to make your analysis:
- What was the photographer's goal/purpose in making this image?
- Do you think that the creator of this image might have had an agenda or motive beyond simply capturing the scene? If so, what might it have been?
- Does anything appear out of context or out of place in this scene? Why or why not?
- Is the soldier's expression, position, or movements consistent with what you would expect in this scene?
- Does this image make logical sense?
- Step 3:
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Go to Civil War Photography on the Biography of America Web site to learn more about the origins of this photograph. Were you surprised by what you learned?
- Step 4:
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Conclude the activity by going to the Something More section on this Biography of America Web page. Click on Questions to Ponder and reflect on the questions there. You can also check Civil War Photography and Gallery of Alexander Gardner Images.
To learn more about the Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter image or to see what another Civil War photo can reveal, go to Does the Camera Ever Lie on the Library of Congress Web site.