The American Civil War was the first war in which both sides widely used entrenchments, repeating rifles, ironclad warships, and telegraphed communications. It was also the first American war to be extensively photographed. Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and Timothy O’Sullivan are famous for having made iconic photographs in the Civil War’s eastern theater. George N. Barnard deserves to be ranked in this top tier for his photographic work in the war’s western theater.

100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Atlanta Campaign, by Stephen Davis, presents a riveting collection of Barnard’s camera work. Most of the photographs are from Barnard’s time in Atlanta, mid-September to mid-November 1864, during the Federal occupation of the city. Some were published by him in 1866, but many more have appeared in the countless pictorial histories of the Civil War.
No comprehensive collection of Barnard’s Atlanta photographs has been published. With this volume, Stephen Davis attempts to advance the scholarly literature of Barnardiana. Two of the photographs reproduced in this book are believed never to have been widely published. About the author: Stephen Davis of Cumming, Ga., is the author of four books on the Atlanta Campaign. He has been studying George Barnard’s photographs for decades.

“I applaud Steve Davis’s selection and use of George Barnard’s photographs, which are seen on the printed page all too rarely. Davis takes readers on a visual journey from the earliest days of the Atlanta Campaign to Union capture of the city while zooming in to the many details hidden in the depths of Barnard’s glass plate negatives. With introductory information and professionally curated and described photographs, Steve Davis presents a book from which casual Civil War buffs and serious Civil War photography students will benefit.”

Garry Adelman, Center for Civil War Photography