00837 - All Over Now ; Confederate sharpshooter at foot of Round Top [LC-DIG-cwpb-00836]
To read the inscription "All over now" photographer Alexander Gardner reminded us of two things. First the life that was lost for a cause he believed in. This Confederate soldier lay dead for approximately four days before Gardner found him and took this image. In that time he and thousands of others on both side lost their life. Somehow showing just a single soldier, rather than a large group conveys the sense of loss more. This was an individual, he had a family, perhaps a wife and children. It was all over for him, and to some extent those he left behind.
In another way "All over now" could refer to Gettysburg itself and the Confederate hopes and dreams. A few days before the possibility of bringing the fight to the North and bringing war to an end seemed possible. After Gettysburg it was all over for the South. While the struggle would continue for nearly two more years, never again would the South have the opportunity to end the war on their terms.
![00837 - All Over Now ; Confederate sharpshooter at foot of Round Top [LC-DIG-cwpb-00836]](/img/s/v-10/p1324536646-3.jpg)