1893 Kurz and Allison View of the Civil War Battle of Winchester, Virginia

This is an 1893 Kurz and Allison view of the Third Battle of Winchester or the Battle of Opequon during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). Union cavalry and infantry carrying American flags charge Confederate lines from the left. Wounded and dead soldiers and horses litter the battlefield while plumes of smoke illustrate artillery and gun fire. Battle lines stretch to the horizon.

The Third Battle of Winchester

Fought on September 19, 1864, the Third Battle of Winchester was the largest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Union Major General Philip Sheridan had been tasked by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant with rendering the Shenandoah Valley, known as the 'breadbasket of the Confederacy', useless to the enemy. The battle raged all day, with both sides leading attacks and counterattacks, but it ended in a Union victory after the Confederate army withdrew. Historians remember the battle as the first battle of the war 'in which cavalry, artillery, and infantry were all used concurrently and to the best possible advantage, each according to its own nature and traditions.'

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 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 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 1893. We note a single cataloged example which is part of the collection at the Library of Congress.