September 10, 1862: The Army of Northern Virginia leaves Frederick, MD (Photo)

I agree with the scholarship that says this photo is from Early's 1864 march through Frederick.

It's still the most important photo taken of the War, IMHO, because it shows the ANV on the march and it's not a staged or posed photo.

The photo is a good lesson that teaches - Armed Revolution against The Regime is a very difficult undertaking that invites great hardship and suffering.

Why were there so few photos taken of the Confederate army on the march? I thought photography was pretty ubiquitous during the war.

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Why were there so few photos taken of the Confederate army on the march?

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There are very few photos of any army on the march from that period. Photography was still in its infancy and the vast majority of photographers were headquartered in the North during this period. Most of your photographs from the war were of armies in winter quarters or on the drilling fields. Very rarely did photographers travel with the army during a campaign. Hence why all photographs of battlefields that we have were taken after the battle had concluded.

That's why photographs such as the one in my OP or the one taken of the Union high command at Massaponax Church are considered so valuable.