Thomas C. Roche
Illustration — Self portrait of Roche • Illustration — One of Roche's Civil War photographs, showing a dead Confederate soldier at Fort Mahone, Petersburg, Virginia April,1865. • Illustration — Variation of the above picture Thomas C. 1826–1895) was a photographer known for his photographs of the American Civil War. Roche's first job as a professional photographer was for Henry T. Anthony, a chemist in New York City, and his brother Edward, for whom he took photographs of the city and the harbor starting in 1859. He continued to work for the Anthonys during the Civil War, making photographs for his company's popular "Instantaneous Views." He also traveled on the front lines with the Army of the James.
Also recorded as T.C. Roche
Thomas C. Roche
Andrew J. Russell · Library of Congress (B811- 3199)[P P] · Public domain
- Born
- Thomas C. Roche was born in 1826.
- Died
- Thomas C. Roche died in 1895.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- photographer · journalist · writer
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Illustration — Self portrait of Roche • Illustration — One of Roche's Civil War photographs, showing a dead Confederate soldier at Fort Mahone, Petersburg, Virginia April,1865. • Illustration — Variation of the above picture Thomas C. 1826–1895) was a photographer known for his photographs of the American Civil War. Roche's first job as a professional photographer was for Henry T. Anthony, a chemist in New York City, and his brother Edward, for whom he took photographs of the city and the harbor starting in 1859. He continued to work for the Anthonys during the Civil War, making photographs for his company's popular "Instantaneous Views." He also traveled on the front lines with the Army of the James.
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Thomas C. Roche was a journalist, photographer and writer, of American nationality. The journalist worked in New York City. Works are held at Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Canada and Photography Collection, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q7788166 · wikipedia · Thomas C. Roche
In this article
Biography
Biography
An anecdote describes Roche's reaction to the horrors of war while photographing the construction of the Dutch Gap Canal: after an artillery shell exploded next to him, it was said, "shaking the dust from his head and his camera he quickly moved to the spot and, placing it over the pit made by the explosion, exposed his plate as coolly as if there were no danger." By 1865, Roche was photographing for General Montgomery C. Meigs, Quartermaster General of the U.S. Meigs wanted to document the logistical efforts that supplied the Union armies during the Siege of Petersburg. Roche would take many images of the Union base at City Point, Virginia. Roche's most well-known images are the photos of dead Confederate soldiers in the trenches outside of Petersburg soon after they were abandoned. After the war, Roche returned to work for the Anthonys, with whom he published a book on photography.
Places of work recorded in the authority are New York City. Employment is recorded with Edward Anthony & Co. And E. & H. Anthony & Co. Work by Thomas C. Roche is recorded in the collections of National Gallery of Canada, Metropolitan Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Photography Collection and J. Paul Getty Museum.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1826
Thomas C. Roche was born on 1 January 1826.
1895
Thomas C. Roche died on 1 January 1895.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7788166: Thomas C. Roche
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Thomas C. Roche”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Harry Johnson, Maritime New York in Nineteenth-Century Photographs (New York: Dover, 1980), xiv.
- 2.Roy Meredith, Mr. Lincoln's Camera Man, Mathew B. Brady (New York: Dover, 1974), 118.
- 3.Meredith, 190.
- 4.Kenneth P. Czech, Snapshot: America Discovers the Camera (Minneapolis: Lerner, 1996), 26.
- 5.Thomas C. Roche, Photographer at Petersburg. PetersburgProject.com.
- 6.Thomas C. Roche and Henry T. Anthony, How to Make Photographs: A Manual for Amateurs, 5th ed. (New York: E. & H. T. Anthony, 1895). In the collection of the New York Public Library.
References
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Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q7788166: Thomas C. RocheWikimedia Foundation
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Secondary witness
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Recognition and collections
Work by Thomas C. Roche is
National Gallery of Canada, Metropolitan Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Photography Collection
Works and catalogued output. [Ordnance Wharf, City Point, Virginia]
1865 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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