Searching for Arms (from Confederate War Etchings) 1861 - 1863

Curator: This etching, from sometime between 1861 and 1863, is titled "Searching for Arms," part of Adalbert John Volck's "Confederate War Etchings." Editor: It feels chaotic and deeply unsettling. The frantic energy is palpable, with this woman clenching drapery and facing the viewer, which heightens the overall feeling of violated privacy and distress. Curator: Absolutely. Notice how the figures are arranged – a visual symbol of the disruption and desperation within the Confederacy. We see soldiers frantically tearing apart what I imagine is a home, supposedly looking for weapons. The visual focus falls on this young woman protecting an unseen presence near the window; it echoes the sentimental iconography surrounding women in wartime. Editor: And Volck uses stark realism, which contrasts sharply with the propagandistic function these images would have served in bolstering Confederate morale. The men are not idealized heroes, but rather desperate figures who create disorder while purportedly defending their homeland. The act of searching homes underlines that their side had limited resources, that this scarcity was felt by everyone, but it fell disproportionately on women and the working class. Curator: War not only exists on the battlefield but invades domestic space, that threshold women and children are supposed to be able to count on for physical and psychological safety. Observe the symbol of crossed arms throughout history, here embodied by a commander. His hands over his midsection mimic the vulnerability of his pose. He is the representative of the war, yes, but that's also an image of the power dynamic playing out, with an undercurrent of fear. Editor: Right, his very stance communicates not strength, but internal conflict, the kind you find in accounts from Confederate soldiers who grappled with the ethics of their cause. This echoes in the woman’s similar pose to his: both are in their own way at a crossroads. Volck is forcing us to see war as it unfolds not just in theaters of battles, but in the bodies of civilians and conflicted commanders alike. The room is her theater, her battlefield. Curator: Thank you, it is easy to read it now with that broader lens. Editor: It makes you wonder about all the unseen battles contained within the symbol of wartime violence, doesn't it?