“The photographs of the Civil War,” writes historian Allen Guelzo, “were to the generation of the Civil War a reassurance of fact; to us, they are a window in time” (v). But images produced over and over in black and white have created distance and unfamiliarity for their modern viewers. Patrick and Dylan Brennan breathe new life into these images with their innovative two-volume set, Gettysburg in Color, published by Savas Beatie.
To bring this project to life, Patrick Brennan, the author of several highly regarded Civil War era books (including Secessionville: Assault on Charleston), teamed up with his daughter, Dylan. Tapping into an advanced, artificial intelligence-based color identifier, the authors were able to identify features and colors previously unseen to Civil War enthusiasts. Through this colorization process, new hues have been identified in well-known Civil War images, shedding light that may help to pinpoint their actual locations on the battlefield. Similarly, through the colorization process, the Brennans reveal that many images long believed to contain only Union dead also included dead Confederates.
Many of the images colorized for this work include well-known portraits of Civil War generals; woodcarvings; photographs by Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and Timothy O’Sullivan; and other images captured at postwar reunions. Accompanying these illustrations are short descriptions that help the reader place them in context.
Along with the colorized images, the Brennans also include paintings, maps, and even images of statuary to immerse the reader in the history of the battle. The maps in particular draw the modern reader’s interest, enabling one to see what the landscape looks like today (through the powers of Google Earth) and to visualize the troop movements that occurred there.
Patrick Brennan supplies the narrative of the battle. He focuses primarily on constructing a minute-by-minute narrative, highlighting the contributions of individual companies and regiments with well-selected quotations. Each one of his chapters deals with a different section of the battlefield to help the reader follow the unfolding action. The second volume starts with the actions near the Wheatfield and follows the campaign to its conclusion, when the last Confederate troops recross the Potomac.
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, Gettysburg in Color is a handsome and visually stunning volume. The Brennans demonstrate how new technologies can reshape our understanding of Civil War photography—no less than the conflict itself.
Riley Sullivan teaches history at San Jacinto College.
