Jackson Free Press

Lines of men discharge rifles into more lines of men. Horses rear back as a night sky streaks with artillery fire. Drummers lead line after line of bearded soldiers into a conflict that might claim all of their lives.

Among the battle scenes we might expect from an exhibit titled "Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection," there is also a drawing of women sorting clothing to send to soldiers. Another depicts a campsite of white tents surrounded by lonely watchmen sleepily looking for a warning of invasion. One more features men dancing around their campfire to escape, if just for a second, the impending fear of annihilation.

For the first time in the Deep South, "Civil War Drawings from The Becker Collection" is on exhibition at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Many of these 85 original illustrations were drawn on "battlefields and locations like Shiloh, Vicksburg and Gettysburg," says a statement from the museum. They commemorate the "150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, emancipation and the steps toward the reunification of the nation."

Julian Rankin, the museum's marketing director, compares the artists to the photographers of the Vietnam War and the filmmakers that produced the movie "Restrepo."

"There are definitely battle scenes but also just getting the reactions of the people in the war—the humanity of the soldiers," he says. "I think it is sort of similar to (other war documenters) in a lot of ways. These guys were embedded in these camps."

The artists worked for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper in the 19th century. Rankin explains that although photography was available for centuries, it had limitations that made illustrations preferable for newspapers printing images of the Civil War. At the time, slow shutter speeds required photo subjects to stand still for a long time. "If there weren't people sketching, there would be no other way for people to see what was happening," he says. "All the photographs were basically of the battlefields afterward, with dead bodies lying around or people sitting really still in portraits. There was no way to really see what was happening during the battle (with photography)."

The exhibit walks an atypical line for the art museum, which generally strays away from exhibits typical of historical museums. This line between art and history, exhibit and commemoration is exactly what makes the drawings so interesting.

"We are not a history museum, so we try to make sure the art we show is of high quality, and these really are when you see them," Rankin says. "It's hard to imagine them sketching that proficiently when the battle is happening in real time. It's pretty amazing. It's just a different way to look at the Civil War. It's not this static (event), when you can see the motion of the (artist's) hands. There is this kind of continuity, this kind of fluidity to it that really makes it more alive."

"Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection" runs from Jan. 31 through April 19. The Mississippi Museum of Art (380 South Lamar St., 601-960-1515) is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free for museum members, $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 for students, and free for children 5 and under. For more information, visit msmuseumart.org.