“The Baggage Train”

“From his time with the troops in Virginia, Homer became intrigued with the African American laborers who helped support the Union effort, particularly the men who loaded, maintained and  drove those large supply wagons. Here a couple of teamsters are taking a break. They’ve hitched a ride on the back of a wagon: one’s lighting up a pipe while the other still clutches his whip, this long strip of braided leather that the drivers referred to as ‘the black snake.’  For the most part ,and there are some exceptions, Homer’s wartime imagery presented African Americans in a fairly direct manner without the kind of distorted stereotypes prevalent in popular illustration and literature.  At the front, his most accessible models were the black civilians who labored in the Union camps as general laborers and cooks, laundresses or teamsters — all generally referred to at the time as ‘contrabands’ …  and thousands of the so-called ‘contrabands’ flooded the Union camps seeking freedom and also work and whenever possible, the Army employed them, particularly the able-handed teamsters whose job it was to handle the thousands of horses and mules. With his several visits to the front, Homer well understood the crucial role that these drivers played in supplying food, water, equipment and munitions and moreover he would have appreciated the skill with which the men drove the famously obstinate mules through the brambles and the thick mud.”

Elizabeth O’Leary, “Winslow Homer’s Virginia,” Virginia Museum of History and Culture, April 18, 2013 (1:02:40) . O’Leary’s lecture considers Homer’s works that were inspired by his wartime visits to Virginia. Several sketches, illustrations, and painting featuring African Americans are included. The segment about “The Baggage Train” begins at 19:00.