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| Perilous photography at the front Here in imagination we may stand with Brady on the bank of the Rappahannock while he calmly focussed his cameras upon the town across the stream. The mighty Union army had arrived before Fredericksburg, and Brady, ever anxious to be in the thick of things, was early at his work. The only indication of war in the picture is the demolished railroad bridge, but behind the windows of the old mill at its farther end and in most of the houses of the town were Confederate sharpshooters, while along the river bank wooden barricades sheltered soldiers prepared to dispute the crossing of the river. No sooner had Brady placed his queer looking cameras in position than he and his assistants became the target for hundreds of rifles, but he calmly proceeded with his work and in accordance with his usual luck secured his pictures and returned uninjured. Almost a month of delay ensued before Burnside's futile crossing of the river furnished the photographers with a wealth of stirring scenes, many of which again had to be caught under fire. |
