A Black Family Coming into the Union Lines
Photographer: David B. Woodbury. Date: January 1st, 1863.
Original caption: A characteristic view of a big load of "contrabands" coming into our lines. Photo shows African American men, women, and children seated in front of and inside a mule-drawn covered wagon. Artist Alfred Waud worked up a sketch from this photograph, probably made in his presence by David B. Woodbury on January 1, 1863. The drawing, called "An arrival in Camp--under the Proclamation of Emancipation" was published in Harper's WeeklyThis repeated image was first captured in a photo by Matthew Brady's operator David B. Woodbury. Woodbury depicts a group of people arriving in a horse-drawn wagon, including men, women, and children who were likely former slaves. Newspaper artist Alfred Waud modified Woodbury's drawing while he was out in the field sketching it. Waud's figures were dressed more tastefully, with one man sporting an umbrella and a satin hatband. This sketch, which Waud frequently published in Harper's Weekly, appeared there in January 1863. The identical incident was depicted in The New York Illustrated News (not seen here) in a way that neither matched Woodbury's photograph nor Waud's illustrations. This incident was once more reenacted by Milton Bradley's Myriopticon toy, this time for amusement in the family living room.
Citations: National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures