The photos of Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, James F.

Gibson, Timothy O'Sullivan and George Barnard were the most well-known Civil War photographs. They brought a reality to a war that had been previously highly romanticized. Disturbing images of sprawled bodies and bloody clothes in newspapers startled a nation used to only seeing illustrations and other fictitious representations of battle. Photographers captured all aspects of war including camps, towns, battlefields, families, and soldiers both living and dead. Matthew Brady, one of the most renowned Civil War photographers, took the majority of his photos at Antietam, specifically the unburied bodies on the battlefield. Brady also attempted to take photos at Bull Run, where he was fired upon by enemy lines. He managed to escape with his camera unharmed, having to find his way back to Washington. He opened a gallery in New York City in 1844, displaying his Civil War works. Alexander Gardner was appointed to General George McClellans staff in 1861. He photographed Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Petersburg. He published a collection of his works in 1866 titled Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War, which included the controversial photo of a young soldier called "Dead Confederate Sharpshooter at Gettysburg."

George S. Cook is the most well-known Confederate photographer. He took photographs of Fort Sumter and Charleston as it was being destroyed. Some of his photographs included depictions of naval activity, but most of his work was lost in a fire in 1864. Because of the primitive technology, no actual battle scenes were photographed. The camera shutters required its subject to be still. The newest technology in 1861 was a wet-plate camera which still needed over 30 minutes of light exposure. An image was captured on a chemically-coated piece of glass by this method and then developed in a dark room. The cameras were bulky and heavy and required two people to operate. They were not easily transported from place to place and all equipment had to be moved by wagons. The Civil War was the first war to be extensively photographed. The information we have on this war far exceeds any before it and any wars leading up to World War II. When these photos were displayed to the public a general outcry followed. People were much more eager to end the war and were shocked by the brutality and vulgarity of war, two aspects they had never experienced first-hand before the Civil War. These photographs helped shape the public opinion of war for generations.