General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) and six of his seven generals (Oliver Otis Howard, John A. Logan, William B. Hazen, Jefferson C. Davis, Henry Warner Slocum, and Joseph A. Mower) 1865

Curator: Mathew Brady’s portrait, taken sometime in the 19th century, presents General William Tecumseh Sherman alongside six of his generals. Editor: There's a weight to it, isn't there? A kind of solemn… stillness. It feels like a gathering of men who have seen too much, almost caught in a silent, reflective moment. Curator: The photographic process itself—the plates, the chemicals, the developing—was painstaking. Each print from Brady's studio was meticulously crafted, involving teams of artisans and laborers. Editor: And you feel that in the final image. It's a tangible representation of not just the generals, but also the collective effort, the human labor that went into its creation. All those buttons and fabric...! Curator: It's about power but also the material reality of war—the uniforms, the equipment, the very bodies that fought. Editor: Perhaps, it's a reminder that even in victory, there is a cost, etched into the faces and borne by those who made it happen. Curator: Indeed, it is.