[SKETCHBOOK OF FIFTY-FIVE ORIGINAL PEN, PENCIL, AND WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY PRIVATE JOHN RICHARDS, A UNION INFANTRYMAN IN VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NEAR THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR, SHOWING SCENES IN WASHINGTON, D.C., NORTHERN VIRGINIA, AND THE AREA AROUND CITY POINT, INCLUDING IMAGES OF MILITARY CAMPS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, WATERFRONT SCENES, AFRICAN-AMERICAN RESIDENTS, UNION AND CONFEDERATE TROOPS, STEAMSHIPS ON VARIOUS RIVERS, AND MUCH MORE].

Richards, John:

Published by [Various places, mostly around City Point, VA, as described below]. 1865.

About this Item

An important and little-studied Civil War sketchbook, created by Union private and artist John Richards, providing fifty-five fresh, contemporary views of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia in the closing months of the the Civil War. Richards' artwork, created in pen, pencil, and watercolors, includes views of Union-occupied cities and towns in Virginia, Union Army installations, and the soldiers and African-American laborers in them. There are also two memorial drawings one for a fallen Union soldier and one for a fallen Confederate soldier - as well as views of Union steamers used for mail, troops, prisoners and supplies. This sketchbook, filled with drawings by a recently rediscovered Civil War artist, is a compelling and important visual chronicle of Richards' travels along the Mid-Atlantic Coast at the close of the Civil War. The sketchbook shows Union installations and the American South as they appeared in the closing months of the conflict, including structures no longer extant, and provides a firsthand visual account of prisoner transport and of the African-American soldiers and civilians associated with the Union war effort. Private Richards' drawings in the present sketchbook include views of Washington, D.C. as well as places in northern Virginia including Alexandria, Mount Vernon and Fort Hunt. There are also views of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including Hampton, Norfolk, and Jamestown as well as extensive views of City Point (now Hopewell, Virginia), as it was occupied by Union forces near the end of the war. City Point, located at the convergence of the Appomattox and James rivers, was used as General Grant's field headquarters during the Petersburg Campaign in 1864 and after the battle, and was built by the Union army into one of the largest supply hubs in operation during the Civil War. A port consisting of eight large wharves was built by Union troops and extended along the shoreline to receive as many as 225 supply vessels from Northern ports. Over twenty miles of military railroad was constructed that radiated out from City Point to the Union front lines near Petersburg, creating an unimpeded flow of supplies from the North directly to Union troops. City Point was also the site of a major field hospital for the Army of the Potomac that served 29,000 patients in 1865, with a separate, affiliated hospital serving members of the cavalry corps. In 1864, City Point was also the site at which President Lincoln first discussed the surrender of Confederate forces with his commanding admirals and generals. Private John Richards (1831-89), also known as John Richard or John Rychard, was born in Bern, Switzerland, and emigrated to the United States in 1854 with his wife, Esther. In May of 1861 as a naturalized citizen, Richards enlisted in the New York Fifty-Ninth Infantry, was assigned to Company K, and was wounded in action at the battle of Antietam in 1862. He was sent to the Union's Mower General Hospital in Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill neighborhood to recover from his wounds. It was during his recuperation at Mower that Richards began to take an interest in creating crude sketches of the world around him, and although he never formally trained as an artist, he began to develop his own detailed, architectural style. The New York Fifty-Ninth Infantry served at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Auburn, Bristoe Station, Blackburn's Ford, and Mine Run, but it is unclear if Richards participated in any of these battles before he was transferred into the Veteran Reserve Corps in 1864. It was during this service that Richards presumably made his tour of the Mid-Atlantic Coast in 1865. Following his release from the military, Richards settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania, where he became the sexton of the Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church. He continued his artwork and especially favored creating detailed drawings of local historic architecture. A local lithographer thought Richards' drawing.

Seller Inventory # 58593

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [SKETCHBOOK OF FIFTY-FIVE ORIGINAL PEN, PENCIL, AND WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY PRIVATE JOHN RICHARDS, A UNION INFANTRYMAN IN VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NEAR THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR, SHOWING SCENES IN WASHINGTON, D.C., NORTHERN VIRGINIA, AND THE AREA AROUND CITY POINT, INCLUDING IMAGES OF MILITARY CAMPS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, WATERFRONT SCENES, AFRICAN-AMERICAN RESIDENTS, UNION AND CONFEDERATE TROOPS, STEAMSHIPS ON VARIOUS RIVERS, AND MUCH MORE].
• Publisher: [Various places, mostly around City Point, VA, as described below]. 1865.