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Artist
Alexander Gardner, 17 Oct 1821 - 10 Dec 1882
Sitter
Jonathan Letterman, 11 Dec 1824 - 15 Mar 1872
Unidentified Men
Date
November 1862
Type
Photograph
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 17.1 × 23 cm (6 3/4 × 9 1/16")
Mount: 30.1 × 38.7 cm (11 7/8 × 15 1/4")
Mat: 40.6 × 55.9 cm (16 × 22")
Topic
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Costume\Headgear\Military
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Architecture\Building\Tent
Nature & Environment\Animal\Dog
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Nature & Environment\Plant\Grass
Exterior\Forest
Exterior\Military Camp
Unidentified Men: Male
Jonathan Letterman: Male
Jonathan Letterman: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Civil War
Jonathan Letterman: Medicine and Health\Physician
Jonathan Letterman: Military and Intelligence\Army\Army physician
Portrait
Place
United States\Virginia\Fauquier\Warrenton
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.78.98
Exhibition Label
With this group portrait, Gardner turned his attention to the medical corps of the Army of the Potomac, spotlighting the importance of Dr. Jonathan Letterman, who was named its medical director, with the rank of major, in June 1862. Letterman is credited with revolutionizing battlefield medicine, and his work as both a physician and manager was essential in bringing care of the wounded up to standard after the early battles exposed the army’s shocking unpreparedness to care for its casualties. Letterman systematized treatment, adopting the triage system for categorizing the severity of wounds. He also made sure that the doctors and medical staff were as close to the battlefield as possible, and he created mobile field hospitals. Letterman’s reforms made a great difference, but the medical staff was always fighting a losing battle against mass casualties on the battlefield and the prevalence of disease in camp.
