03/08/2026
Known as "The Scourged Back," this iconic 1863 photograph depicts Gordon (also known as "Whipped Peter"), an enslaved man who escaped a Louisiana plantation and traveled over 80 miles through swamps to reach a Union Army camp in Baton Rouge. Captured during a medical examination by photographers McPherson and Oliver and later published in Harper's Weekly, the image revealed the severe, raised keloid scars on his back caused by brutal whippings. It became one of the most influential images in American history, serving as undeniable visual proof of the cruelty of slavery, galvanizing the abolitionist movement, and inspiring many African American men to enlist in the Union Army to fight for freedom.