Blog Post 8: Gordon and The Scourged Back
It was the spring of 1863 and a runaway slave by the name of Gordon managed to escape the brutal grip of his master. He paved his way towards the Mississippi river while being pursued by his master's bloodhounds, and managed to throw them off the trail my masking his scent with onions from the master's farm. After traveling a grueling 80 miles towards the Mississippi river Gordon finally acquired his freedom at the Baton Rouge Union army base; this alone is an amazing feat, but Gordon did not stop there. Gordon joined the Union army a couple months after Abraham Lincoln allowed African Americans to serve in segregated corps. Once Gordon went through his medical exam the military doctors began to realize what horrors Gordon went through during his years as a slave. The scars on Gordon's back were so apprehensive that journalists from the Weekly Harper decided to photograph his wounds and mass produce the photos to inform others of the terrible situation slaves were in. Many people commonly referred to this picture as "The Scourged Back" and was utilized as a medium to prove how terrible slavery was. In many regards photography allowed people to see certain aspects of reality captured in one moment, advancements in photography could be facilitated to expose aspects of life that drawings cannot. As an artist's rendition of a certain event can be subject to their own bias, and at that time photography alleviated those biases since it could instantaneously capture certain moments without having to be hand drawn overtime. "It tells the story in a way that even Mrs. Stowe cannot approach; because it tells the story to the eye," this quote was by an unidentified editor for The New York Independent in 1863 which further emphasizes the immense impact that this photograph holds. Although records of Gordon's military career are somewhat obscure, his legacy is still just as influential today as it was during the American civil war.
First of all, thank you for the detailed story about Gordon! His story of his escape, how he joined the army, and what he did are all very inspiring and make this image so much more heartbreaking. I agree, and am happy that did not do an artistic interpretation of the scars. The photograph of a real live human being is shocking. It helps put yourself into context... “What if that were me.” Thus creating an emotional response that is more likely to cause people to take action. I mentioned this is my own blog post, but it’s kinda how the ASPCA commercials work. They show you sad images of hurt animals and you want to help, you want to take action. So, basically Pathos. A cartoon would not have created any sort of emotional connection, or at least at nowhere near the depth of an actual photograph. I wonder if any other slaves showed their scars in order to end slavery.
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