Is it true that photographers like Timothy O'Sullivan and Mathew Brady were able to expose the public to the reality of war with their American Civil War photos?

Answer 1

The American Civil War was the first war to be photographed in great detail (although a few earlier wars produced photographs) and the photos from the fighting were published extensively in newspapers. Brady, O'Sullivan, and a handful of others produced thousands of photographs of uniformed soldiers, cannon firing, wagons rolling, and they also photographed the death and wanton destruction of the war. Probably many people were exposed to the reality of the war. However, seeing severely injured young men coming home certainly must have had a significant impact, also. In any case, all of the exposure did not help end the fighting. The war dragged on for 3 years and 10 months after the first battlefront photos were published.