The first genre to examine is probably the least accurate, paintings. The reason that paintings are inaccurate depictions of war is that a painting is painted a long time after the event occurs. Another reason that paintings are inaccurate is the motivation behind the artist. In creating the portraits of Napoleon, the artists definitely had exterior motives. On the one hand, they were being paid by Napoleon to portray him in a positive light. On the other hand, if they failed to do so, they probably would have been beheaded. The portraits the artists made portrayed Napoleon as a great leader, as a leader of the people because he was often pictured while working on a massive stack of official documents and as a military leader because he was always pictured with a sword. This attempt to portray Napoleon as a great leader is known as propaganda. Not only were they inaccurately portraying Napoleon, the artists often times changed other details. For example, in a certain picture, Napoleon was pictured riding a horse into battle when in reality he rode a donkey. Painting can be very inaccurate, but it is often times very useful because it gives us a picture into the society in which the artist works. In the case of the Napoleonic artists, it is clear that propaganda is rampant and that Napoleon is dependent on the support of the people for his power.
The second genre to examine is drama. In one aspect, drama is not extremely accurate because the author is often writing about events he did not see or participate in. For example, the events in Henry V occurred between 1400 and 1422, but Shakespeare was not even born until 1564. Drama can be accurate, however, if the author does his homework and pays attention to detail. An interesting thing to look at when examining drama is the audience for which the work is being written. Often times, the author will cater to his society and will downplay important details (or overemphasize insignificant ones) so that his country will be seen as good and heroic. Shakespeare, for example, would have definitely written Henry V differently if he had been writing to a French audience. Drama may not always be historically accurate, it is very useful for getting a glimpse into the society of the author. By comparing the work to the known historical facts, we can get a glimpse into great minds such as Shakespeare. Another excellent way in which drama is useful is that moral ideas can be drawn from the work. In Henry V, Shakespeare implants into Henry many great qualities of leadership. For example, in the scene where Henry is giving a speech to boost morale before battle, Henry puts himself equal to all his subjects by calling them his brothers. He is also seen as a great leader because he goes into battle along with the troops and does not merely give orders.
The third genre to examine is memoirs. Memoirs are often times categorized as fairly accurate because they were written by someone who was actually involved with the event which he was writing about. There are certain inaccuracies however because memoirs are often written a long time after the event. This length of time may introduce a few errors into the work, but it allows the author to have time to reflect on the significance of the events he is writing about and to see the big picture. In looking at The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier, One might argue that because Jakob Walter was a mere infantryman in Napoleon’s army he could not see the big picture. However, Jakob Walter wrote the book long after the war when the full effect of the war could be clearly seen. On the other hand, he did write the book a long time after the war and most likely left off many details. Also, because he was writing about past event, he probably wrote differently about them rather than if he had started writing as soon as he was home when the pains experienced in the war were still fresh in his memory.
The fourth genre to examine is diaries. The diary is often regarded as the most accurate work because it is written the day the event occurs (or often the day after) when the event is still fresh on the mind of the author. The diary does have it’s inaccuracies as well. For example, as stated in the introduction, man is finite and cannot know all there is to know about an event while it is occurring. For example, in her diaries, Mary Chesnut at first says that the South had won the battle of Saratoga when in reality it was a draw. Another important aspect about a diary is that it is often not intended to be read. For example, The Private Mary Chesnut is the unpublished diaries of Mary Chesnut. She never intended for her work to be published so there are several blatant errors in the work which Mrs. Chesnut would have corrected or made note of if she had published the work. She would have also left out a large number of the petty details about her every day life, which often times lull the reader to sleep. Mrs. Chesnut’s intent was to write about events so that she could remember them. She was not trying to tell the reader the cause of the problems or to ponder the reasons for the war, she was writing the events down so that she could later compile them in a fashion that could be published. She did however write sympathetically only about the South and often portrayed the North in a negative light.
In conclusion, the diary and the memoir are the most historically accurate portrayal of the experience of war. That is not to say that they are totally accurate but that they are the most accurate. Paintings on the other hand would have to be the least historically accurate portrayal of the experience of war. The fact that it is inaccurate does not keep the paintings from being useful. In the same way, the fact that the diary and memoir are fairly accurate does not necessarily make them useful. The usefulness of a work is totally subjective and is dependent upon the context in which the work is being used. For example, if you wanted to get a view of the big picture, a memoir would be of much more use than a diary because the author of a memoir has had time to see the big picture as well as to see the final outcome which the events he was describing led to. Finally, I would like to quote a friend of mine from Collegium V to show an example of a truly accurate portrayal of war: “The most accurate portrayal of war would have to be a painting that was being painted of a battle in which the artist was painting while the battle was taking place. Then in the midst of the battle, as the artist is about halfway done, a stray bullet comes flying through the canvas and blood splatters all over the canvas as the artist dies from the bullet.”
