Zouave Ambulance Corps (unfinished), oil on canvas
23 1/2" x 32"
manner of Winslow Homer (1836 - 1910)
This is a painting which I have been slowly researching since I acquired it several years ago. I had it restored by Tom Yost, who removed all of the cosmetic overpaint that had been added in order to make it appear as a finished painting. One can now see, thanks to Tom, the artist's ability as a draftsman, better understand the process used and speculate about the possible reasons why the work may have been abandoned and left unfinished.
I thank Carol Johnson of the Library of Congress for her referral of an organization of Civil War specialists who helped me correctly identify the date and location of three related photographs. With the assistance of Clark B. Hall, I was able to determine that the composition of this unfinished painting was based upon the following photographs that were taken in the spring of 1864 in Brandy Station, Virginia. These four variant images demonstrate to me a collaboration between an experienced field photographer and a skilled artist. Although the use of optical devices were fairly common in previous centuries, the use of photography as an aid in painting and graphics was new.
The photo shoot begins with 10 soldiers in a staged ambulance recovery mission and ends with 19 soldiers posing against a different background with noticeable attention given to the continuity of the pose, the source of light and the shadows.
Photograph #1, Brandy Station, 1864
10 soldiers, 4 horses and an ambulance wagon
Photograph #2, Brandy Station, 1864
12 soldiers, 4 horses and an ambulance wagon
Photograph #3, Brandy Station, 1864
19 soldiers, 5 horses and an ambulance wagon
Photograph #4, Brandy Station, 1864
20 soldiers, 5 horses and an ambulance wagon
Please note that photograph #3 was reproduced on page 305 of Volume 4 of "The Photographic History of the Civil War", published in 1911 by the Blue and Grey Press. It was incorrectly identified as an ambulance drill in the field, soon after the Battle of Antietam in 1862. This erroneous information is quickly dismissed when the photograph is put along side the identification of the soldiers and of the ambulance type illustrated below, as well as the history of the formation of the Ambulance Corps.
Photographs 1, 3 and 4 were found in the collection of the Library of Congress. Photograph 2 was found recently on the website of Robert McMahan from a photo in the National Archives. All of which were probably taken by a field photographer working with Matthew Brady.
1st Lt. Aaron K. Dunkel and Company H, Army of the Potomac
1st Lt. Aaron K. Dunkel and Company H, Army of the Potomac
The Howard Ambulance
In October of 1864, Assistant Surgeon B. Howard, U. S. Army, proposed the construction of ambulances based upon the prototype illustrated in the three photographs discussed. Is it possible that the painting had been commissioned by Assistant Surgeon B. Howard, U. S. Army to promote the prototype of his ambulance or to simply create public sympathies for the need of an ambulance corps?
A full description, with illustrations, will be found on pages 981 - 994 of The Sanitary Commission Bulletin, Vol. I, 1866; an extract, omitting some of the minor details, is here reproduced: "To enable the badly wounded to be easily loaded and unloaded, two litters or beds are provided, made of wood, like an ordinary shutter, with sliding handles at each corner. Upon this the patient is easily shifted, and without any disturbance..."
The weight of the Howard ambulance wagon was twelve hundred and thirty-two pounds. The plan of this wagon, with recommendations of some twenty officers of the Army of the Potomac, was submitted for examination by Surgeon T. A. McParlin, Medical Director of the Fifth Army Corps, to a Board of Medical Officers, consisting of Surgeon J. J. Milhau, U. S. A., Surgeon L. W. Read, U. S. V., and Assistant Surgeon George A. McGill, U. S. A., who reported, on October 6, 1864, that: "the ambulance wagon meets the approbation of the Board as one presenting some decided advantages over that now in use. It is recommended further that at least two to a division be furnished, so that a fair trial can be made of such vehicles." A number of the old pattern ambulance wagons were thereupon altered according to the plans submitted by Assistant Surgeon B. Howard, U. S. A., at the Government repair shops at Washington. But it seems that after nine months' experience in the field these ambulance wagons failed to meet the expected advantages.
Source with illustrations:
http://www.civilwarhome.com/ambulancewagons.htm
The Howard Ambulance
TIMELINE
March 11, 1864 Congress passes an act and the President approves, establishing a uniform system of ambulance service throughout the military forces.
April, 1864 Photographs taken of Zouave Ambulance Corps near Brandy Station, Virginia. Most likely taken by Timothy O'Sullivan with the possible assistance of the artist, Winslow Homer.
April, 1864 ambulances going to the front - before the Wilderness Campaign (see illustration, Photographic History of the Civil War, Vol. IV, pg. 309) Photograph shows about a dozen Ambulances, including one that looks like the "Howard" model in the painting being discussed in this post.
May, 1864 Army of the Potomac moved to front under General Grant in his decisive campaign from the Wilderness onward. One hospital per each division.
May 5 - 7, 1864 Battle of the Wilderness, presumably Homer witnessed this battle; the artist reported that his painting "Skirmish in the Wilderness" had been painted from sketches made on the spot. Sheldon reported that after travelling to the front "with the first batch of soldier-volunteers, " Homer "twice again made a trip to the Army of the Potomac, these times independently of the publishers."
May 28, 1864 Published "Army of the Potomac -- Sleeping on Their Arms" by Winslow Homer.
15 -18th June, 1864 Homer's painting "Inviting a Shot before Petersburg, Virginia"; based upon sketches made around this date. Grant's planned attack and subsequent assault on Petersburg, Virginia fail; on June 18th Grant lays seige to the city.
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