16 Facts About Alfred Waud

Alfred Rudolph Waud was an American artist and illustrator, born and raised in Hackney, London, England.

Alfred Waud is most notable for the sketches he made as an artist correspondent during the American Civil War.

Alfred Waud trained at the Government School of Design at Somerset House, London, with the intention of becoming a marine painter.

Alfred Waud did not achieve this but, as a student, he worked as a painter of theatrical scenery.

Alfred Waud intended to pursue that work in the United States when he immigrated in 1850; he sought employment with actor and playwright John Brougham.

In 1850, Alfred Waud sailed from London aboard the sailing ship Hendrik Hudson, bound for New York City.

Alfred Waud married Mary Gertrude Jewell from New York in 1855 or 1856.

Alfred Waud was naturalized as an American citizen on January 10,1870.

Alfred Waud made detailed sketches in the field, which were rushed by courier back to the main office of the newspaper, where engravers usee them to create engravings on blocks of boxwood.

In 1860, Alfred Waud became an illustratorfor the New York Illustrated News.

Alfred Waud followed a Union expedition to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina the next month and witnessed the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries.

Alfred Waud joined Harper's Weekly toward the end of 1861, continuing to cover the war.

Alfred Waud visited every battle of the Army of the Potomac between the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 through the Siege of Petersburg in 1865.

Alfred Waud continued to be a prolific illustrator, doing numerous illustrations for Harper's Weekly and other prominent publications.

Alfred Waud achieved his greatest fame in his post-war work.

Alfred Waud died in 1891 in Marietta, Georgia, while touring battlefields of the South.