Lt. Jerome Bishop Finds a New Home

[Gallo de Cielo]

All,

I wanted to take a moment to update folks regarding the efforts of Doug Cooper, the fellow coordinating the preservation aspect of Banks' Grand Retreat. As of this weekend, Doug, along with Bill Treadway and the Friends of Mansfield have sucessfully purchased a CDV of Lt. Jerome Bishop, an officer in the 81st ILL. The 81st is the guiding Federal impression for the event. Furthermore, the 81st was blooded in an accidental explosion within Ft. DeRussy following the capture of the fort from Confederate troops at the onset of the Red River Campaign.

Due to the hard work, and personal financial sacrifice of Mr. Cooper, Mr. Treadway, and the Friends of Mansfield, an important piece of history has been secured and preserved.

I will let Doug and Bill add their own thoughts but they are humble fellows and deserve some recognition for their efforts.

If you're on the fence- GET REGISTERED!

Kind regards,

[DougCooper]

Re: Lt. Jerome Bishop Finds a New Home

1LT Jerome Bishop, Co D, 81st Illinois survived the hell of Vicksburg, various other campaigns and skirmishes, only to die in his shelter tent when a piece of exploded CS cannon took the top of his head off as he lay sleeping the night of March 16, 1864 inside Ft DeRussy, two days after it's capture.

As detailed by Capt Edmund Newsome, Co B, the troops suddenly heard one of the US gunboats firing on the water battery casemates around the Fort in an attempt to destroy them. It worked, and large and small pieces of iron, wood and shell flew through the air, waking up the garrison. Suddenly Newsome heard what he assumed was one of the rebel cannon about to be destroyed ("bursted") and turned to his 1st Sgt to ask if they should run. They decided to stay put, figuring they would be killed just as easily sprinting away as laying there.

Lt Bishop was not so lucky. Newsome heard a groan and a crowd gathered around Bishop and another man. Both had been hit in the head by the same piece of shrapnel. Bishop was killed instantly, as was another man in the 95th Illinois, the brother regiment of the 81st.

The men were enraged that such an unsafe, stupid thing could be ordered by the division commander Smith at night with troops sleeping nearby. They hated him for weeks, until his leadership in the tough times during the retreat won them over.

The backmark on the photo says "Vicksburg MS, Military Photographer" and it was likely taken in the winter of 63-64. We had it sent directly to the Friends of Ft DeRussy and it will form the foundation for their collection. Steve Mayeux will be posting photos later next week.

The Friends have known about this CDV for several years but the collector refused to sell. Once he decided to sell he wanted a tidy sum, so Bill and I decided to help the Friends out as our contribution to the preservation cause of the event. Thanks also to Gary Keith, great grandson of a Red River Union vet in the 116th NY, for a donation to this cause today. If anyone else would like to donate a buck or two, let me know.

This now clears the decks for all the proceeds from the event to be used as seed money to buy the earthworks now in private hands.

[116thNY]

Re: Lt. Jerome Bishop Finds a New Home

All,
I wish to thank Doug Cooper, Mr. Treadway and the Friends for the fine work in preserving this photo and an important part of Red River Campaign history.
My compliments.
Very respectfully,
Gary A. Keith

[DougCooper]

Re: Lt. Jerome Bishop Finds a New Home

Here is the front and back of the CDV of 1st Lt Jerome Bishop, Co D, 81st Ill Inf, killed at Fort DeRussy, Red River Campaign, March 16, 1864.

Note the backmark - "D. P. Barr, Army Photographer." Here is an article I found on the web on Vicksburg photographers by Jeff Giambrone, appearing in Military Images Magazine, Jan/Feb 2002.

To Catch the Shadow
Army Photographers in Occupied Vicksburg
By Jeff Giambrone
Military Images, Jan/Feb 2002

The occupying army in Vicksburg created a vigorous economy that encourage the local photographic market.
A Man Found Dead In Washington Street Without A Photo" proclaimed the headline in the Vicksburg Daily Herald on December 20, 1864. Although it sounds a modern tabloid story, the headline was actually the beginning of an inventive advertising campaign by the photographers Joslyn, Smith & Young to publicize their new business in the Hill City.

Vicksburg fell on July 4, 1863, and following closely on the heels of the victorious Union army were a number of photographers who set up shop in the city. These men made a living by providing their art to both soldiers and civilians alike, and many would come and go from the Hill City as the war raged on. Some of them are well known and others rather obscure, but they all contributed to a rich photographic legacy of life in Vicksburg during the occupation. It is easy to understand the attraction that Vicksburg held for the photographers who came here. After the surrender the city was full of opportunities in the form of Union soldiers wanting their images captured for the benefit of loved ones back home. In 1864 the Vicksburg Daily Herald commented on the popularity of photography with soldiers, noting, "Our neighbor, the daguerrian, was doing a thriving business yesterday. His rooms were crowded all day by soldier boys, who were having themselves `painted as they were' for Thanksgiving memorials for friends at home."

Another enticement to the men who came here was that they would not face any local competition. All the local photographers were either in the Confederate army or had been forced to close due to the scarcity of supplies.
Researching the role of photographers in Vicksburg is not an easy task, as most left little documentation other than the images they fixed on paper, glass, and metal. Most of the information for this article comes from the pages of the Vicksburg Daily Herald. The photographers' ads and the occasional bits about them were invaluable in piecing together the story of photography in occupied Vicksburg.

Among the first, if not the first, photographers to establish a gallery in Vicksburg after the siege was the team of D.P. Barr and J.W. Young, operating their business under the name Barr and Young, Army Photographers. Originally working at Fort Pickering, Memphis, the exact date Barr and Young moved to Vicksburg is not known but CDVs of Generals Ulysses S. Grant and John A. Logan with Vicksburg backmarks taken by the pair have a printed notation on the front that they were "Entered according to Act of Congress, A.D. 1863 by Barr & Young, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U.S. for the So. District of Ohio."

As well as soldier and civilian portraits, Barr & Young also photographed a number of prominent Vicksburg landmarks such as the Warren County Court House. The early CDVs taken by the pair bear the backmark "Barr & Young, Army Photographers, Ft. Pickering, Memphis, Tennessee," and their later work is marked "Barr & Young, Army Photographers, Palace of Art, Vicksburg, Mississippi."

Barr & Young dissolved their partnership for unknown reasons by June 1864, when Barr bought out Young's interest in the gallery. Young, on June 8, advertised that he had opened his own shop, the "Washington Photograph and Ambrotype Gallery" on the third floor of the Odd Fellows' Hall on Washington Street. He boasted that his gallery was, "Guaranteed to give Satisfaction," adding that he hired J.E. Joslyn, formerly of Anthony & Brady's Galleries of New York to "execute work in the most beautiful and desirable manner."

Strangely Young never put his name on his CDVs, instead simply using the name of his business as his backmark. His work is usually inscribed "Washington Gallery, Odd Fellows Hall, Vicksburg, Miss."

Not to be outdone by his former partner, Barr published his own ad in the June 11 edition of the Daily Herald. He announced that he now had the entire interest in the firm formerly known as Barr & Young, and was ready to make photos "of every description with neatness and dispatch." With an eye towards keeping his estabfished clientele, he also made it known that "all negatives made by the late firm are in my possession." Barr marked his CDVs, "D.P. Barr, Army Photographer, Palace of Art, Vicksburg, Miss."

In October 1864 competition for clients increased as the firm of Campbell & West, Photographic Artists, opened their doors on Washington Street. The Daily Herald gave the business a ringing endorsement, saying that they had "as fine specimens of photographic painting as can be found in any establishment of this kind in the South."
Campbell & West remain something of a mystery: Even their first names are unknown. Their ads abruptly end with the November 16, 1864, edition, and there is no mention of them afterwards. Also, despite a diligent search, the author has been unable to find an existing example of their work, or even find anyone who has heard of Campbell & West, Photographic Artists.