Online Exhibits > Civil War Photographs by George Barnard

RUINS OF THE CIRCULAR CHURCH, ST. PHILLIP'S CHURCH, AND SECESSION HALL FROM KING'S STREET
Charleston SC
1865

Even though some of the destruction shown here was not directly caused bythe war, Barnard used the dramatic ruins as a metaphor for the destruction of a political order and a way of life. The "contemplative observer," who appears in many of Barnard's images, is a reminder that we too should carefully observe the destruction shown in these photographs, and meditate on its meaning.