Beschreibung:

Otto Botticher (Prussian, ca 1811-1886), Libby Prison: Union Prisoners at Richmond, VA, hand colored lithograph, 18.75 x 9 in. (sight), matted to 24 x 14.25 in. Sarony, Major & Knapp, ca 1863. Panoramic view of the interior of Libby Prison, with Union officers and soldiers standing and sitting in groups, many in uniform. "Col. F.W. Swift" and "Gen. Wilkins" are identified in ink at center, and Brigadier General August Willich, captured at the Battle of Stones River, appears at right, reading in bed. During his service with the 68th New York Volunteer Infantry, Botticher was captured by Confederate forces on March 29, 1862, probably near Manassas, VA. Botticher was taken first to Libby Prison and ultimately transferred to a facility in North Carolina for the duration of his imprisonment. At both prisons, Botticher made use of his antebellum skills as an artist, sketching scenes of his life in captivity that were later reproduced as prints after the Civil War. Condition: Staining at bottom right corner in margin. Period ink inscriptions identifying central figures.