Carrying the Wounded
1865 Smithsonian American Art Museum
About this artwork
This graphite drawing depicts a group of Union soldiers carrying a comrade on a makeshift stretcher across a scarred landscape. It is a poignant sketch reflecting the somber realities of the American Civil War.
Did you know?
Winslow Homer worked as a freelance illustrator for Harper's Weekly during the Civil War, and his sketches often captured the intimate, often grueling experiences of soldiers rather than just heroic battles. This specific sketch is deeply personal, as the artist inscribed a note at the bottom confirming it was drawn in March 1865, just weeks before the war's conclusion. It stands as a powerful testament to the exhaustion and toll taken on those serving in the conflict.
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Carrying the Wounded
Winslow Homer, 1865
