Online Exhibits > Civil War Photographs by George Barnard

MISSIONARY RIDGE
1864

On November 25, 1863, General Grant attacked Missionary Ridge, where the Rebels had spent two months preparing fortifications. To everyone's surprise, the 23,000 soldiers under General George H. Thomas captured the ridge in one enthusiastic charge, and the Confederates fell back into northern Georgia. This photograph was taken from the top of the ridge, looking down the slope that the Union troops ascended. This photograph is the largest in the exhibit, printed from a glass negative that was 18 inches x 22 inches.