Peter (enslaved man)

Peter
First of three known versions of "the scourged back"; McPherson & Oliver, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, approximately April 2, 1863
Known for	Subject of photos of his scarred back, widely circulated during the American Civil War

Peter (fl. 1863) (also known as Gordon, or "Whipped Peter", or "Poor Peter") was a self-emancipated, formerly enslaved man who was the subject of photographs documenting the extensive scarring of his back from whippings received in slavery. The "scourged back" photo became one of the most widely circulated photos of the abolitionist movement during the American Civil War and remains one of the most notable photos of the 19th-century United States.

The photo of the scourged back "spurred a number of different narratives, all of which were intended to illustrate the meaning of his portrait, and privilege his photograph as a means by which to picture slavery and dramatize the need for abolition."^[1] In 2013, Joan Paulson Gage wrote in The New York Times that "The images of Wilson Chinn in chains, like the one of Gordon and his scarred back, are as disturbing today as they were in 1863. They serve as two of the earliest and most dramatic examples of how the newborn medium of photography could change the course of history."^[2]

Many historians have repeated the account presented in an 1863 Harper's Weekly article which consisted of a triptych of illustrations (all said to be of Gordon) and a narrative describing Gordon's escape from slavery and enlistment in the Union Army as factual.^[3][4] However, while the historicity of the photograph of Peter's scourged back and the narrative of his life and escape are well-documented, the narrative that appeared in Harper's was a generalized legend dashed off by Vincent Colyer as page filler, based on a combination of factual anecdote and convenient fiction.^[5] Harper's "Gordon" is a composite character, while the historical Gordon and Peter are almost certainly two different people who were combined by Harper's for narrative convenience.^[5] Peter or Gordon's service in the U.S. Colored Troops after emancipation is attested in news reports in Harper's Weekly and The Liberator but so far has not been verified through other records.^[5]