The complete issue
Vol. XIV, No. 2
(32 pages)
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Inside
Cover image
A sixth-plate melainotype from the David W. Vaughan collection pictures an unknown soldier, possibly a Georgian, holding a Bowie knife and wearing an Italian-influenced Corsican cap.
Editor’s Desk (p. 1)
The editor informs readers that one report has surfaced of an image of a re-enactor being offered for sale by an antique dealer who did not know or care that the image was a reproduction. Also of note is that the 104th Pennsylvania Infantry, a history of which appeared in the March/April issue, will have its monument rededicated next year.
Mail Call (p. 3)
The letters to the editor includes the identification of a Michigan soldier, a note about the earliest-known image of an American soldier, comments on reproduction images and more.
Passing in Review (p. 5)
Six publications are mentioned, including The First Day at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership (Kent State University Press) edited by Gary Gallagher, The Custer Reader (University of Nebraska Press) edited by Paul Andrew Hutton, Advance the Colors: Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags (Capitol Preservation Committee) by Richard A. Sauers, The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography (Harper Collins) by Trevor N. Dupuy, Curt Johnson and David L. Bongard, Gettysburg: A Battlefield Atlas (Nautical & Aviation Publishing Co. of America) by Craig L. Symonds and General John H. Winder, C.S.A. (University of Florida Press) by Arch Frederick Blakey.
Four Marines at Fort Fisher by David Sullivan (pp. 6-8)
Profiles include Capt. Lucien LeCompte Dawson, 1st Lt. Charles Fremont Williams, Cpl. Andrew Jackson Tomlin (Medal of Honor recipient) and Pvt. Henry B. Hallowell.
A Tale of Five Taylors and Five More Tar Heels by Greg Mast (pp. 10-15)
The life and military service of the Taylor boys include three brothers who served in the 1st Infantry, McGilbry, John and Joseph, brother William of the 8th Infantry and brother Henry D. of the 44th Infantry. Wartime portraits are included for all five soldiers. Also included is a circa 1860 portrait of their parents, Josiah and Cressea Taylor. The other Tar Heel soldiers are Egbert A. Ross of the 11th Infantry, Patrick H. Jenkins of the 1st Infantry, Wright Steven Batchelor of the 47th Infantry and Seaton G. and Richard J. Durham of the 12th Infantry.
The Fight for the City of Mexico: Letters of Captain William Chapman, 5th U.S. Infantry edited by William Dunniway (pp. 16-18)
Native Marylander Chapman, a graduate of West Point in 1831, fought in the Mexican War and the Civil War. He was a prolific letter writer, according to the author, who presents excerpts here. The narrative is illustrated by two portraits of Chapman, a Mexican War era daguerreotype of him with a friend, possibly Moses Merrill, and another of Chapman as lieutenant colonel of the Union’s 2nd Maryland Infantry.
Six Southerners: Vignettes of rebels at war by John Graf (pp. 19-23)
Profiles include brothers George and James McCabe of the 1st Company, Richmond Howitzers, John D. Simms of the Marine Corps and Isaac, James and John Reeves of the 10th Louisiana Infantry. Portraits of all of these men, with the exception of John Reeves, illustrate the text.
Caped Crusaders! A look at winter wear in the Union army by Cyrus Tenney (pp. 24-25)
A survey of five images picture soldiers clad in greatcoats.
A Triumph of the Wet Plate: A new look at Gardner’s Photographic Sketchbook by Marc Daniels (pp. 26-29)
The author examines four images from photographer Alexander Gardner’s book: Plate 21 (Dunker Church at Antietam), Plate 22 (Union signal detachment on Elk Mountain in Maryland), Plate 65 (Jericho Mills, North Anna River) and Plate 67 (Quarles Mill, North Anna River).
Stragglers (pp. 30-31)
Solo photos of the interesting and the unique, from the collections of our readers includes two images: A militia officer dressed in an ornate light-colored coat with prominent trim in the shape of sideways “V”s and a Union soldier holding a musket above his head.
Sutlers’ Row (p. 32)
Back cover
A ninth-plate ambrotype from the David W. Vaughan collection is a portrait of an unknown Southern volunteer, circa 1861.
