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

This is an 1891 Kurz and Allison chromolithograph view of the American Civil War Battle of Stones River. Kurz and Allison present a stylized view of the battle, with Union Major General Rosecrans in the foreground on the left. With Union troops on the left and Confederate soldiers are on the right, Kurz and Allison correctly depict the fighting on both sides of the Stones River. The several cannons on the Union side likely allude to the critical role of Union artillery in repulsing two Confederate attacks on January 2. The field is littered with casualties, a reference to the battle's high human cost.

A Most Costly Engagement

Fought between December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863, the Battle of Stones River saw the highest overall percentage of total casualties of any Civil War battle, including Shiloh and Antietam. 78,400 men, from both the Union and Confederate armies, fought, and 24,645 were either killed, wounded, or missing when the fighting ceased - nearly 1/3 of all forces in the engagement. Four brigadier generals, two Confederate and two Union, were killed or mortally wounded during the battle, and Frances Elizabeth Quinn, a woman, fighting as a man in the Union army, was among those wounded.

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, of which this view is one. At the time of their publication, remembrance of the Civil War was at an all-time high. Kurz and Allison wanted to capitalize on this sentiment. Although the Kurz and Allison views were not the first Civil War battle views to be published, they were by far the most popular. In a style reminiscent of Currier and Ives, Kurz and Allison lithographs were not meant to be historical representations, and even, 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. Frequently, 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 effect. 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 dominant 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. This view is not cataloged in OCLC, but we have located examples in the collections of the Tennessee State Library and Archives and the Kentucky Historical Society.