First Shots: Early War Photography 1848-60

Discover early-war photography from the 19th century in a fascinating exhibition at the National Army Museum’s new White Space Gallery.

First Shots: Early War Photography 1848-60

The National Army Museum has dug deep into its archives and unearthed the work of four war photography pioneers: Bengal Army Surgeon John McCosh, Roger Fenton, James Robertson and Felice Beato.

In this remarkable new exhibition you can see war photographs from as early as the Second Sikh War (1848-49), the Second Burma War (1852-53) and the Crimean War (1854-56).

Highlights of First Shots include:

• Some of the earliest war photographs in existence
• The first examples of photography as political propaganda
• The first pictures of ordinary soldiers in the theatre of war

19th-century War Photography at the National Army Museum

The photography collection features everyone from the top generals to ordinary soldiers and civilians, including photographs of:

• The battle-scarred British commander, General Sir Charles Napier
• Mul Raj, the ruler of Multan, local people and architecture
• Crimean War camp scenes, such as L’Entente Cordial, showing British and French soldiers at ease
• Portraits of commanders such as the Council of War featuring Lord Raglan, Marshal Pé́lissier, Omar Pasha (the commanders of the British, French and Turkish forces)
• The landscapes of the Crimean War
• The captured defences of the Russian naval base of Sevastopol

About London’s National Army Museum

The National Army Museum explores how the British Army has affected the past, present and future of Britain, Europe and the rest of the world.

The museum was established by Royal Charter with the aim of telling the story of Britain’s land forces. It was opened by The Queen in 1960, before moving to its current site in Chelsea in 1971.