Backmarked “J.F. Maurer, Photographer, Fort Madison, Iowa," this original period photograph is an unusual example. Made during the War, the subject of this photo is a hand-drawn Prairie Grove battlefield map, likely made by a soldier. Fought on December 7, 1862, the Battle of Prairie Grove was a strategic victory for the North and secured Union control of Northwest Arkansas. It can be surmised that a participant of this battle sketched the scene shown here, and then had the sketch reproduced by a photographer later on. Note the references to the “enemy” in the treeline. Perhaps a sleuth can trace a unit from Prairie Grove to Fort Madison to narrow down the artist.



Condition is good with some light staining, wear along the edges, and a single pinhole where someone, potentially a soldier, once hung this carte so that it would display correctly.



[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Antique Photography, Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, CDV]