21 Sep 2022

Photography:

Mathew B. Brady’s new memorial

Mathew B. Brady (nobody seems to know what the B stands for) is today a celebrated Civil War photographer. The pictures he and his assistants took of the battlefields during the war continue to shape our understanding of that conflict. Here he, in straw hat, sits across from a really impressive pair of sideburns clinging to the cheek of none other than General Burnside (LOC)
Sadly, when he died, he was broke. Immediately after the war, interest in his pictures dropped precipitously and even the federal government was not willing to pay for them. Brady lived over 30 years thereafter, fighting all the while to regain what he was owed. After his death, members of the 7th New York Infantry paid for his funeral, but no money was left for a grave marker. The first one that was eventually put in, managed to get his death date wrong. This marker was added much later, as people began to understand the importance of his work (LOC)
But there are some that still felt that he deserved more. And so, on Saturday, a new, additional memorial was added to his final resting place in Congressional Cemetery. We sent our photographer to take some pictures. (Frank Pietrucha)
The blue tarp was removed to reveal an impressive granite slab covered with pictures (Frank Pietrucha)
On it are a variety of images that he took, as well as how these have later been reused over the years. (Frank Pietrucha)
There are even statues of some of those he photographed, as well as a large image of Brady himself. Go to Congressional and check it out for yourself! While Brady might disagree, the pictures are never the same as the reality. (Frank Pietrucha)


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