Civil War Infantry Charge

Winslow Homer Civil War Art:

Civil War Infantry Charge

The picture at right is from the May 17, 1862 edition of Harper's Weekly, and presents an impressive Winslow Homer drawing of a Civil War Infantry Charge.  The illustration is captioned, "Charge of the first Massachusetts Regiment on a Rebel Rifle Pit Near Yorktown - Sketched by Mr. W. Homer". This image does not contain the Homer signature, but the caption credits the image to him.  The illustration shows the unmistakable Homer style. Notice the alignment of the soldiers bayonets . . . it creates the image of a wave of steel bearing down on the enemy.  Also notice the prominence of the sword of the officer on horseback commanding the battle. In the background this charge reaches the enemy, and scenes of the ensuing hand to hand combat can be seen.

May 17, 1862- The Civil War Infantry Charge (Click on Image for Enlarged View)

A Note to our Readers

We acquired the images above for the purpose of digitally persevering them on this site for all to enjoy.  With the digital archive complete, we are making the original, 140 year old illustrations available for purchase.  By selling these original illustrations, we are able to acquire more material to archive on this site.  If you are interested in purchasing one of the original Harper's Weekly leafs on this page, contact paul@sonofthesouth.net The leafs are available for a price of $250 a piece, and the proceeds will go to continue to expand the resources on this site.