[Bridge No.2, U.S. Military Railroad to City Point, Virginia] 1861 - 1865

Andrew Joseph Russell made this photograph, titled [Bridge No.2, U.S. Military Railroad to City Point, Virginia], during the American Civil War. As one of the first mass conflicts to be extensively photographed, the Civil War presented a new way of documenting and perceiving the realities of war. Russell was employed by the Union Army as a photographer. The US Military Railroad played a crucial role in supplying the Union forces, and this photograph emphasizes its strategic importance. Yet it also presents a complex narrative about progress and conflict. Bridges like this one facilitated the movement of troops and supplies, but also highlight the war's impact on the landscape and the communities that inhabited it. Consider the identities and roles of the men on the bridge. They represent the labor and the military power that drove the Union war effort. Their presence invites reflection on the human cost of progress and the stories of those whose lives were forever changed by the Civil War.