Historic Photographs by Alexander Gardner

Alexander Gardner took 70 photographs of the battlefield starting just two days after the battle. This was the first time an American battlefield had ever been photographed before the dead had been buried. Gardner returned in early October when President Lincoln visited General George McClellan and the Army of the Potomac and took another series of images. Gardner, 41 years old at the time of the battle, was employed by Mathew Brady who owned of a photography gallery in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War.

Below is an image gallery of Gardner's Antietam images. Each image has been digitally enhanced and cropped. You can go to the Library of Congress web site and download the originals. To learn more about Alexander Gardner and his work at Antietam click here.