War is Hell is a digital art piece based on the life of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.

From Wikipedia: “Sherman served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the scorched-earth policies that he implemented against the Confederate States.”

The title is based on a famous quote from the general, “It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.”

"War Is Hell" is an attempt to visualize and understand Sherman's contradictions: toward enslaved African Americans, towards war and violence, and within himself.

I created the background fire image using Adobe Firefly. The three busts of Sherman are based on photos I took at the General Grant National Monument in New York City using an iPhone 14, color-corrected and repaired in Lightroom, then enhanced in Photoshop, Procreate and Premere Pro.

Credits: Enslaved farmers photo courtesy of the Library of Congress taken on 8th April 1862 by Henry P Moore, the enslaved person being whipped graphic is circa the public domain 1850-1865.