Horizontal CDV sized view of a large open field with a battery of guns dismounted. Upon inspection one can count 6 cannon barrels dismounted and laying on the ground. You can also see the rammers, carriages (with wheels dismounted) lying nearby. These cannons are stripped down to parts, as a rifle would be. The Cadets are standing at attention and waiting for the word to assemble the guns. There are three mounted men out front, which may be the instructors. There are also some men mounted amongst the guns and from their uniforms may be upper classman. There are caissons in the rear. Image is clear. Very small photographers mark on back reads "Rockwood, Photographers, 839 Broadway, N.Y." Comes with a modern label that reads "West Point Cadets class of 1861-1862, Artillery drill; disassembly of cannon."

George Gardner Rockwood was a 19th-century New York City photographer. He was born in Troy, New York on April 12, 1832, went to school in the Troy area and supposedly graduated with a Ph. D. from the University of Chicago (An obituary in Wilson's Photographic Magazine (August 1911) says it was Columbia University in New York). In 1853, he married Araminta Bouton of Troy and then started as a newspaper reporter for the Troy Daily Times. At 23 he became the managing editor of the Troy Daily Post. Around 1855 his professional interest developed in photography (the Wilson's obituary says he began his photographic career in St. Louis, Missouri in 1853). In 1857 he opened a studio with his brother, Elihu, in New York City at 839 Broadway. Elihu was a colonel during the Civil War and maintained a partnership with his brother throughout his life. He died in 1908.

Rockwood has been credited with introducing the carte-de-visite format of photography to the United States from France. He claimed the first card photograph made in this country of Baron Rothschild was taken at his gallery around 1859. George Rockwood competed with many well known and highly popular photographers during his time, such as Mathew Brady. He was a member of elite photographic societies during the 1870s and 1880s and contributed articles to their published journals.  According to an obituary in the Washington Post (July 12, 1911), Rockwood had taken photographs of more than 350,000 people.  Rockwood filed for bankruptcy at about the same time of his brother's death, claiming he owed over $20,000.  Some of his few assets were in stock shares, 383 of which were in his own company, George G. Rockwood Inc., which he incorporated in 1906. George Rockwood died at his country home in Lakeville, Connecticut on July 10, 1911, at the age of 80.

Inquire About CDV - OUTDOOR VIEW OF WEST POINT CADETS IN TRAINING, BY PHOTOGRAPHER GEORGE ROCKWOOD

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