[Entrenchments on Left of Bermuda Hundred Lines, Near Richmond, Virginia] 1864

Editor: This is a photograph from 1864 by Andrew Joseph Russell titled "Entrenchments on Left of Bermuda Hundred Lines, Near Richmond, Virginia." The gelatin-silver print depicts a war scene, and the landscape feels desolate, despite the rows of trees in the distance. What do you see in this piece that might be less obvious at first glance? Curator: I notice how the wooden barricade with the sandbags resembles a visual language borrowed from earlier fortifications, now adapted to photography during wartime. Sandbags as anonymous guardians remind us of the human cost and the psychological weight of holding a defensive line. Consider how these repeating shapes represent endurance and anxiety. Editor: Endurance and anxiety... it's interesting to think of those burdens symbolized by the sandbags, almost like stand-ins for people. Is that a common reading of these types of images? Curator: Symbolism in wartime photography can be multifold, consciously presented, unconsciously embedded, and culturally understood in a shared experience. Notice how the photograph lacks grand heroic gestures, focusing instead on a mundane aspect of military operations; how does it shift the symbolic register of war? Editor: It definitely feels more grounded, less glorified than what I might expect. It focuses on what's real. That line of trees in the back then--is that also meant to symbolize something? Curator: Think of the tree line as a border, or limit: beyond safety and known space, or a future. A line where life continues unaware while on the front, there is fear and possible death. Perhaps the trees are symbolic of life continuing in the distance even during war? Editor: So the picture contains multiple layers that reflect a society at war, like hope and struggle together. Thank you for helping me to see this photograph beyond its initial stark realism. Curator: Indeed, this image presents the psychological and cultural landscape of war.