Otto Botticher

Otto Botticher was a Prussian-American artist and Civil War officer, known for his accurate depiction of military scenes. He immigrated to the United States 1848, where he settled in New York City and formed a lithography studio. He had previously served in the Prussian military and at the outbreak of the American Civil War, served as a lieutenant colonel in the Union army. He was captured and sent to a military prison camp in Salisbury, North Carolina in 1862. The experience led to the creation of the lithograph "Union Prisoners at Salisbury, N.C." (1863) in which he depicted prisoners playing baseball. The sport was frequently played at the prison until it became overcrowded and riddled with famine and disease near the end of the war. Fortunately for Botticher, he was freed on September 30, 1862, when he was exchanged for a Confederate soldier in Union custody.