Dr. George Holmes Bixby: Photographer on the Western Rivers
Gary McQuarrie
June 28, 2019
G.A.R. Hall, Gettysburg, PA—Ron Coddington, Editor and Publisher of Military Images magazine, and Doug York, Editor of the Civil War Faces Facebook Site, cosponsored the ‘Gettysburg Gathering’ of approximately 50-75 Civil War photograph collectors and dealers and others with an interest in historic images for a dinner and evening of four presentations (see program).
The Managing Editor of Civil War Navy—The Magazine, Gary McQuarrie, previewed the lead article in the coming Fall 2019 issue of the magazine that documents the evidence demonstrating that Acting Assistant Surgeon George Holmes Bixby, MD, Chief Medical Officer aboard the navy’s first hospital ship the USS Red Rover, was an amateur photographer who took many of the recognizable, previously unattributed photographs of the gunboats of the Mississippi Squadron during his service on the vessel from mid-1862 through the end of the war. Key evidence was provided by Dr. Bixby’s great-great nephew, Mr. Brooks C. Place (Francestown, NH), who provided the authors from Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield with scans of several original glass-plate negatives of gunboat images and prints from Dr. Bixby’s personal photograph albums. This evidence, as well as other circumstantial evidence, was reviewed in detail. Mr. Place was in the audience to view this first presentation of the evidence. Dr. Bixby is now confirmed as one of a handful of amateur physician photographers of the Civil War.
To watch the presentations, here’s the link to a video:
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=military%20images%20magazine&epa=SEARCH_BOX
