Confederate Prisoner.
The picture above shows a prisoner taken from the Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg. The picture was truly taken about twelve days after the final day of the battle. The man is wearing the garb of the south, which usually featured a simple attire of farm clothes if they had not yet received the official grey suits that were the official uniform.
It is guessed from reports of the photographer that this man and two others were not actually part of the fighting but were sentries patrolling the area when they stumbled too far into enemy lines. Gettysburg was a pivotal battle in the Civil War, marking the closest the South ever got to Washington D.C. It served as the battle to stop their advance and send them packing.
The primary reason for the crushing defeat of the Confederates was a combination of their own over confidence and the Union’s well-fortified position. The Union had set up a defensive line along a ridge, which the Confederates charged thinking they could easily break it. For three days they tried and failed to get over that ridge, resulting in heavy casualties that would decimate their armies. This all culminated on the third day with Pickett’s Charge, a strategy to move in at full force in an attempt to breach the center line. The men that were sent were very quickly picked off, most dying, but quite a few were captured alive. The rest of the Civil War past this point would be fought defensively by the Confederate Army.