Modern Photography: Battlefield Cannons

by Sarah Kay Bierle

Posted on February 17, 2017

our-favorite-modern-civil-war-photosDuring my battlefield trips, I enjoying taking the “classic” cannon photos. Though serene battlefield markers today, these artillery pieces caused fearsome destruction during the Civil War.

Manassas Cannon
Cannon at Battery Heights, Second Manassas (Manassas National Military Park; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)

Cannon at Jackson's Lines, First Fredericksburg (Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)
Cannon at Jackson’s Lines, First Fredericksburg (Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)

Silent cannon. Singing birds. War’s horrors nearly forgotten.

Spider Web & Cannon at Spotsylvania(Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)
Spider Web & Cannon at Spotsylvania(Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)

So still it invites a spider to make a home…

"The Cadets Cannon" at New Market Battlefield (Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)
“The Cadets Cannon” at New Market Battlefield (Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)

Once – Precision. Mortality. Science. Killing Thunder.

Cannon at "Stonewall" Jackson Headquarters Museum (Winchester, Virginia; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)
Cannon at “Stonewall” Jackson Headquarters Museum (Winchester, Virginia; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)

Now – Memorial Markers. Innocuous. Beautiful. Silent Reminders.

West Woods Cannon Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)
West Woods Cannon (Antietam National Battlefield; Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.)

I stop to think…and wonder.

4 Responses to Modern Photography: Battlefield Cannons

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