author
Benjamin F. Powelson
A 19th-century photographer and Civil War veteran, he is best remembered today for preserving people and moments that might otherwise have been lost to history. His surviving work links early American studio photography with a firsthand soldier's account of the war.
1 Audiobook
History of Company K of the 140th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers (1862-'65)
by Benjamin F. Powelson, Alexander Sweeney
About the author
Benjamin F. Powelson was an American photographer born in 1823 and died in 1885. Museum and library records connect him with early studio photography and identify him as the photographer behind well-known portraits including Harriet Tubman and Olive Oatman. His work is now held or noted by institutions such as the George Eastman Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Library of Congress.
Powelson also left a written record of the Civil War. Project Gutenberg and Library of Congress records for History of Company K of the 140th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers (1862-'65) describe him as a former first sergeant of Company K, writing from lived experience about the regiment's service and the men in it.
That mix of camera work and eyewitness memory makes him especially interesting. He was not only documenting faces in a studio, but also helping preserve a piece of American history in print.