“Firing the Cannon”

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

Although the Civil War had ended over thirty years before, it loomed large in the imagination of these boys photographed acting out their romanticized vision of Union artillerymen in battle. Civil War veterans commonly visited schools in this period to relate their experiences to a younger generation, much as the veterans of later wars did and still do today. Thomas Ashley (1894-1918) of Deerfield, Massachusetts, holds the flag, unknowingly rehearsing for his own role as a soldier in World War I, when he was killed at Belleau Wood in France in 1918, at the age of 24.

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Details

Item typePhotograph
PhotographerAllen, Frances and Mary
Date1900–1905
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicMilitary, Wars, Battles
EraProgressive Era, World War I, 1900–1928
EventAmerican Civil War. 1861–1865
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatPhotography
Dimension detailsHeight: 6.50 in Width: 8.00 in
Catalog #1996.14.1108
View this item in our curatorial database →
Allen, Frances and Mary, photographer. Firing the Cannon. Photograph. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1996-14-1108/. Accessed on December 8, 2024.

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