Inspection of Troops at Cumberland Landing, Pamunkey, Virginia 1862

This photograph, taken by Wood and Gibson, captures the Inspection of Troops at Cumberland Landing in Pamunkey, Virginia. Here, the orderly rows of tents and the disciplined lines of soldiers evoke a sense of order imposed upon the chaos of war. Consider the wheel. A seemingly simple invention, but here it represents the machinery of war, and harkens back to ancient symbols of cyclical movement. The wheel appears on tarot cards, as a symbol of constant change, and in Buddhist mandalas, representing the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth. This symbol evokes both a sense of hope and a sense of dread. It speaks of the inevitable return of conflict, of the human condition trapped in a loop of violence and destruction. Images like this evoke in us collective memory and subconscious processes, engaging us in a deep, subconscious level, with the powerful emotional weight of the image. The wheel endures. It resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings, connecting us to the past and reminding us of the cyclical nature of human experience.