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A Bit of War History: The Contraband

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A Bit of War History: The Contraband

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File Name	ART321882.jpg
Creator	Wood, Thomas Waterman (1823-1903)
Title	A Bit of War History: The Contraband
Alternate Title	Wood, The Contraband
Date	1866
Genre	Paintings
Material/Technique	Oil on canvas; triptych composed of three same-sized panels
Dimensions	28.25 x 20.25 in.
Description	This is the left hand portion of a triptych showing an African American man in the same location at three stages of his military career. Here, he doffs his hat in greeting as he stands outside of the Provost Marshall's Office. In the background is a U.S. flag, drum, a new rifle with bayonette, and a newspaper lying on a chair. The man carries a knapsack on a stick and has dried tobacco leaves stuffed in his pocket. His clothes are rumpled.
Historical note	This series of three paintings by Thomas Waterman Wood, created in 1866, depicts the progression of an ex-slave from his enlistment in the Union army to his return as a wounded veteran. Wood, who was living in Nashville in 1862, moved to Louisville in neutral Kentucky for the remainder of the war. His dignified and sympathetic portrayals of African Americans working in the fields or accepting new responsibilities prior to and immediately after the war are so unusual as to become political statements.
Subject	United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--African Americans
Theme	Building a Future Through Opportunity Walking a Fine Line
Story	McKissacks Thomas Waterman Wood
Geographic Location	United States--Tennessee
Time period	1860-1869
Contributing Institution	The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rights	Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Identifier	ART321882
Credit line	The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., Gift of Charles Stewart Smith, 1884
Type	Still image
Digital Publisher	Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
Reference URL	http://content.mtsu.edu/u?/shades,8
Archival file	shades3/ART321882.jpg