George Norman Barnard (December 23, 1819 – February 4, 1902) was an American photographer who was one of the first to use
daguerreotype, the first commercially available form of photography, in the United States. A fire in 1853 destroyed the
grain elevators in
Oswego, New York, an event Barnard photographed. Historians consider these some of the first "news" photographs. Barnard also photographed
Abraham Lincoln's
1861 inauguration. Barnard is best known for
American Civil War era photos. He was the official army photographer for the
Military Division of the Mississippi commanded by Union general
William T. Sherman; his 1866 book,
Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign, showed the devastation of the war. This photograph, by
Mathew Brady, shows Barnard
c. 1865.
Photograph credit: Mathew Brady; restored by Adam Cuerden