1891 Kurz and Allison View of the Civil War Battle of Nashville, Tennessee

This is an 1891 Kurz and Allison chromolithograph American Civil War (1861 - 1865) view of the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee. Union troops are illustrated on the left storming Confederate redoubts. United States Colored Troops are prominently featured courageously advancing in the face of point-blank musket fire. The bulk of the illustrated Confederate soldiers appear in the lower right retreating from determined Federal soldiers.

The Battle of Nashville

The Battle of Nashville was the last major battle in the Western Theater of the Civil War and represented the end of large-scale fighting outside the coastal states. Fought between the Confederate Army of the Tennessee command by Lieutenant General John Bell Hood and a combination of Federal forces under the overall command of Major General George H. Thomas, the battle took place on December 15 - 16, 1864. Remembered as one of the largest Union victories of the war, Thomas took the initiative, routing Hood's army, effectively neutralizing its capacity to wage war. Hood's army retreated south, and Union cavalry pursued the fleeing Confederate force. Due to supply issues, the Union forces were unable to capture Hood's fleeing army. Hood was forced to resign his command in January 1865 and received another field command. Because of poorly reported figures, Confederate casualties suffered during the Battle of Nashville and the preceding campaign cannot be known for certain. Nonetheless, the Army of the Tennessee started the campaign with a strength of 38,000 men and it was reported in January 1865 that they were down to 15,000.

Kurz and Allison Civil War Lithographs

The publishing firm Kurz and Allison created a series of thirty-six battle scenes from the American Civil War in the late 1880s and early 1890s. At the time of their publication, historical interest in Civil War was at an all-time high, with many of the participants still alive and heroes to the subsequent generation. Kurz and Allison's views, due to their high production quality, were the most popular series of Civil War views ever published. In a style reminiscent of Currier and Ives, the chromolithographs were not meant to be purely historical representations, and from time to time, included historical inaccuracies. Even so, 'prints depicting the Civil War battles by Kurz and Allison are among the most sought-after collectibles of Civil War enthusiasts.'

Chromolithography

Chromolithography is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it emerged as the dominate method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This view was created and published by Kurz and Allison in 1891. An example is cataloged in OCLC and is part of the collection at the University of Notre Dame. An example is also part of the collection at the Library of Congress.