Battle of Seven Pines, Virginia May 31, 1862 1862

This print of the Battle of Seven Pines was created by Currier and Ives, a New York based printmaking firm, around 1862. At the time, prints like this served an important function as a widely accessible source of information and imagery. Consider the politics of this imagery. Note the chaotic swirl of bodies, the visual contrast between the solid blue of the Union soldiers on the left, with the Confederate soldiers on the right, and the balloon floating passively in the upper left. The battle itself was strategically inconclusive. But here, the image, published for a Northern audience, emphasizes a sense of American power and industrial advancement. To fully understand this print, we can consult period newspapers, letters, and military records. These sources help us to consider the social conditions and power structures of the Civil War era and how those affected the production and reception of such images.