FCCWRT spearheading fund raising campaign
for once-in-a-lifetime exhibit Gardner’s Photographs of the Dead at Antietam:  “Bringing the Story of War to Our Doorsteps"

• A grant request to the Maryland Heritage Arts Authority Grants Program in the amount of $7,350 has been submitted to help fund this event.

• In order to receive this grant, we must raise matching funds of at least $5,650 by July 2012 — and we need your financial support.

• Donations in the amout of $1370.00 have been received as of May 7, 2012.

• Other donations have been pledged.

• Board Secretary Jim Enright will be contacting members with information on how they can participate in bringing this event to life.
   

 On September 17, 1862, with the smoke of battle still hanging in the air, photographer Alexander

Gardner and his assistants roamed the blood-soaked fields of Antietam documenting the human cost of war.
One month later (October 1862) about 20 of these photographs were displayed in the Mathew Brady gallery

in New York City. These powerful photos had an overwhelming effect on the civilians who viewed
them. They brought the reality of war home to them in a graphic and personal manner, so much so that  Lincoln’s Administration quickly moved to prevent their publication, a policy that exists to this day.  

On the 150th  anniversary of the Brady Gallery show,  Mr. Gardner’s photos will again be displayed as a group in the Pry House on the Antietam Battlefield.

The house was used as a field hospital after the battle. The exhibit will run from October 5 until December 1, 2012. In conjunction with the exhibit, a seminar will be held at Hood College on the societal impacts of the photos. A collection of essays by the speakers and other nationally
recognized writers will also be published for the event.  This exhibit and seminar will honor the soldiers who gave their lives at Antietam and also give people the opportunity to experience the human price of war and its impact on every citizen.

We need your support.

The FCCWRT is partnering with dedicated people from the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, HoodCollege, and the Center for Civil War Photography to present this extraordinary event. But a dedicated effort is not enough — money is needed as well. We have submitted a grant request to the Maryland Heritage Arts Authority Grants Program in the amount of $7,350 to help fund this event. In order to receive this grant, we must raise matching funds of at least $5,650 by July 2012 — and we need your financial support.

FCCWRT Board Secretary Jim Enright will be contacting you this week with information on how you, as a member,
can participate in bringing this unique event to life.