Jeff. Davis House, Executive Mansion, C.S.A., Richmond 1865

This stark photograph by Alexander Gardner captures the Richmond, Virginia residence of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Notice the calculated geometry of the building: the imposing structure, with its rows of windows and rigid architecture, exudes an aura of authority. The classical style invokes the ancient world, linking Davis and the Confederacy to ideas of empire. Yet, observe the subtle encroachment of nature. The unkempt trees, with their chaotic branches, and the uneven ground in the foreground hint at an underlying instability. This is a visual manifestation of the chaos and disunion that plagued the Confederacy. Like the Roman fasces, a symbol of power and unity, that was later adopted by the Italian fascists and then splintered and degraded, so too was the symbol of the Davis house undermined. The house stands today, not as a symbol of strength, but as a haunting memento of a fractured past.