Photographers:
Connections:

Earliest war photographs (1840-1870)


 
LL/38724
 
The experimental dawn of the camera in conflict. From the Mexican-American War daguerreotypes to the early calotypes of the Crimea, witness photography’s first tentative steps onto the field of battle.

Membership Access Required

Discover the Dawn of Witness.

Contents

Introduction
1The earliest photographs of war and civil conflict
War photography before photography
2Napoleonic Wars
Early examples
3Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
4Year of Revolutions (1848): France, Paris
5Stefano Lecchi: The Defence of Rome (la difesa di Roma) (1849)
6John McCosh: Burma
7Jean-Charles Langlois: The Crimean War
8Gustave Le Gray: Camp de Châlons (1857)

Terms and conditions • Copyright • Privacy • Contact me
Contributors retain copyright over their submissions
In using this website you agree to the Terms and Conditions
© Alan Griffiths - Luminous-Lint 2026