Ruins of Gaines' Mill, VA (April 1865)

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Gaines' Mill is the place from which the battle of June 27, 1862 takes its name. Situated near the center of the Union line, it was the scene of severe fighting, and at the close of that bloody day, the building was used as a hospital. All of the structure that would burn was destroyed in one of the raids around Richmond, leaving only the brick superstructure, above which, scorched by the fire, the dead trees spread their blackened branches. In front, the partially exposed skeleton illustrates the hasty manner of the soldier's burial, it being by no means uncommon for the rains to wash away the shallow covering.

Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War - Plate 93