John Ross Key, Engineer CSA-- Part 1: Yep, That Key Name

One of the men appointed to the Board to detail the defense of Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor was John Ross Key.  Well, last name of Key.  Could he be related to that other famous Francis Scott Key?

The answer is yes, he was.

From the North Point Gallery site.  Turns out John R. Key was quite the artist and mapmaker.

John Ross Key was born July 16, 1837, two months after the death of his father, and was raised until the age of five by his grandfather, none other that Francis Scott Key, who wrote, of course, "The National Anthem."  His grandfather died in 1843.

As a teenager, he was forced to work to support his widowed mother.

His talent for drawing  led to a job as a topographical artist and draftsman  with the U.S. Coast Survey.  In 1859, he was hired as mapmaker in the advance party of the Lander Expedition to chart the best overland  through hostile Indian territories of Wyoming and Nevada.

In 1861, along with several other Francis Scott Key grandsons, he threw in his lot with the Confederacy.

--Old SeceshKey

The Gettysburg Cyclorama: An Early Virtual Reality Experience-- Part 2: What Gen. Gibbon Had to Say

Union General John Gibbon, who led a division at the Battle of Gettysburg related after seeing it:  "I never before had an idea that the eye could be so deceived  by  paint and canvas.  It was difficult to disabuse my mind of the impression that I was actually on the ground."

The Gettysburg Cyclorama wasn't the first of its kind.  In the late 1800s there was a bit of a craze for cycloramas which represented a step forward from panoramas.

--Old Secesh

The Gettysburg Cyclorama: An Early Virtual Reality Experience-- Part 1

From the April 18, 2016, Time Magazine "Technology: What VR's rocky past reveals about its future" by Lev Grossman.

"The first version of the Gettysburg Cyclorama was created in 1883 by a French artist named Paul Dominique Philippoteaux.  It was an enormous circular painting, depicting the Battle of Gettysburg at the moment of Pickett's Charge, that wrapped around the viewer completely: you stood inside it.  It was 22 feet high and had a circumference of 279 feet."

"The effect was enhance by actual earthworks and broken trees and fences set up in the front of it, in the foreground, which also hid the bottom edge of the canvas.  Audiences were enthralled.  Veterans of the battle wept.  It may have been the most immersive media experience of its day.

Circle Me In.  --Old Secesh

Mort Kunstler's Civil War Calendar for July-- Part 2: On Brave 26th N.C.

Gen. George Pickett's Virginians, Gen. J.J. Pettigrew's North Carolinians, Alabamians and Tennesseeans, and Gen. Isaac Trimble's North Carolinians marched against a brutal onslaught of fire from Union artillery and musketry, only to be thrown back in defeat.

Despite the unrelenting artillery fire and impending defeat, General Lee's gray-clad troops moved on gathering behind their flags.

Shown here is the regiment of men pressed behind the flag of the 26th North Carolina, struggling in vain to reach the Union line.  A survivor wrote: "...our brave men pressed quickly forward and when we reached within about forty yards of the works, our regiment had been reduced to a skirmish line by the constant falling of men at every step -- but still they kept closing to the colors."

A Striking Picture.  --Old Secesh

Mort Kunstler's 2015 Civil War Calendar for July-- Part 1: High Water Mark

Of course, that would be Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.

It shows action at the stone wall where Confederates are about to reach and hopefully get over it.  I am sure that in today's racial climate, there would be some folks highly offended by the battle flags the Confederates are carrying, however.  But, the Southerners are clearly taking a beating and in the background you can see hordes of Union soldiers rushing up to the front line.  It is clear to see that the wave is about to break in defeat.

THE HIGH WATER MARK: GETTYSBURG, PA, JULY 3, 1863

The High Water Mark is Kunstler's depiction of the famous Battle of Gettysburg's finale.  Lee's gamble for victory is being smashed against the Union Center.

--Old Secesh

Mort Kunstler, Premier Civil War Artist

From the Lang 2015 Kunstler Civil War Calendar, 22nd Edition.

I was able to buy one of these calendars at Half Price Books in Columbus, Ohio, for, like they said, half price.  The usual $16-17 price is a bit more than I like to spend, so I normally don't buy these, but have always liked them.  This man goes into detail tremendously and researches a whole lot for every painting he does.

According to the calendar, he began his emphasis on the Civil War in the 1980s after a commission from CBS-TV had him do a painting for their mini-series, "The Blue and the Gray."  He devoted much time to making sure his painting "The High Water Mark" was as correct as it could be.  The painting was unveiled at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum on July 2, 1988, in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the battle.

Even before his concentration on the Civil War, he had already established himself as "the premier historical artist in America."

Beginning in 2011, the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, an exhibit of his original paintings has traveled to museums in seven states.

And, he has done a painting of Fort Fisher.

--Old Secesh