Ruins in Columbia, S.C. Outdoor mammoth albumen. [New York: G.N.Barnard, 1865]. 16 1/4 x 12 1/2 in., mat 20 x 16 in. Pencil title to recto lower margin: "Ruins in Columbia, S.C."

Once a site of consecrated worship and Gothic Revival style beauty, Christ's Church of Columbia was burned to a mere skeletal state in the fires of Sherman's forces as they moved through the state of South Carolina. Pointed arches stand empty, with no stained glass to decorate them, overlooking the fallen brick framing that is positioned closest to the photographer's lens. The roof has completely fallen away, leaving it to appear more like a medieval ruin than a church that was constructed in 1858 for its working-class Episcopalian congregation. 

Though speculation has always stood as to which side instigated the sparks that set Columbia aflame, the results are irrefutable: the city was left in ruins.

George N. Barnard (1818-1902) was an early master of commercial daguerreotype photography and a pioneer of "news" photography, documenting events occurring around New York City. He was the only photographer to accompany General Sherman during his famous Atlanta Campaign and "March to the Sea," as the official photographer of the Military Division of the Mississippi. Barnard's images of the campaign include haunting images of battlefields, stunning landscape views, public and private buildings, railroads, various encampments, military scenes, and the general destruction wreaked by Sherman’s army. 

General Sherman’s capture of Atlanta is widely credited as securing Abraham Lincoln’s reelection in 1864. Lincoln’s victory ensured the war would continue, resulting in eventual Union victory and the universal emancipation of enslaved African Americans. In 1866, Barnard published a book of his work titled Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign; this view is included in the landmark publication, along with other examples of the ruined city of Columbia. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards]