White House Landing, Pamunkey River 1861 - 1865

Timothy O'Sullivan captured this albumen silver print, "White House Landing, Pamunkey River," during the American Civil War. As a documentary photographer, O'Sullivan worked amidst a society grappling with profound questions of identity, race, and nationhood. Here, we see a small boat on the riverbank, carrying a cluster of figures dressed in the garb of Union soldiers or officers. They appear to be navigating the Pamunkey River, a space that, like many American landscapes, carries layers of Indigenous history, colonial conflict, and enslaved labor. The river, once a vital artery for the Pamunkey tribe, became a strategic point during the Civil War, embodying both natural beauty and the marks of human struggle and political tension. O'Sullivan's photograph invites us to consider the complexities of identity and belonging within this historical context. What does it mean to claim ownership of a land soaked in the memories of displacement and conflict? And how does the act of photographing these landscapes shape our understanding of American history and identity?