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Finding Aid: July/August 2011

2011-v31-01-xxxi

The complete issue

Vol. XXXI, No. 1
(40 pages)


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Digital edition: Visit JSTOR.org to purchase
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Inside

Cover image
A carte de visite of a Union soldier and his canine companion from the Steve Karnes collection.

Inside Cover Image
A sailor with a Krag rifle, posed in front of a painted backdrop, from the Jules Martino collection.

Table of Contents (p. 1)

Editor’s Desk (p. 2)
The editor introduces two new departments, Vignette from the Naval War, 1861-65, by historian Ron Field, and a selection of unidentified images titled What’s My Name?

Front and Back cover details (p. 3)
Additional information is provided about the images pictured on the front and back covers.

What’s My Name? Unidentified Images From The David W. Vaughan Collection (pp. 4-11)
A total of 8 images, a combination of hard plates and cartes de visite, pictures Union and Confederate soldiers whose names have become separated from their likenesses. Included in the grouping are five Confederate officers, two images of Union officers and a portrait of a Native American dressed in a double-breasted federal frock coat.

Colonel Frank Wolford, 1st Kentucky Cavalry USA by John Sickles (pp. 12-12)
Wolford, who organized the 1st in the summer of 1861, was among a contingent of Union officers who accepted the surrender of John Hunt Morgan on July 26, 1863. Upon his surrender, Morgan gave his silver spurs to Wolford. Less than a year later, Wolford was dismissed from the army after publicly criticizing President Abraham Lincoln. Two portraits of Wolford illustrate the profile, both from the author’s collection.

Morgan’s Commissary Officer by John Sickles (pp. 14-15)
A carte de visite of Kentuckian Theodore B. Boyd (1834-1909) is accompanied by a summary of his military service. A staff officer to generals John Breckenridge and Braxton Bragg, Boyd eventually joined the staff of John Hunt Morgan. He was captured with Morgan in July 1863 and spent the rest of the war in the Confederate officer’s prison at Fort Delaware, Del.

The Many Faces of Captain Henry Blake Hays, 6th United States Cavalry by David M. Neville (pp. 16-17)
Four images of Hays, who served as ordnance officer on the staff of Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, are pictured. Each image is accompanied by a brief caption.

William N. Brady: Master of the Yard by Ron Field (pp. 18-20)
Brady (1809-1887), a career navy officer, served two stints as the master of the Brooklyn Navy Yard: From 1843-1853, and again from 1858-1865. Newspaper reports described him as “a cool head to attend to and direct anything,” and a man of “precision and energy.” He is perhaps best known for his 1841 book for early-career American naval officers, The Kedge Anchor, or Young Sailors’ Assistant. Two portraits illustrate his story.

Midshipman Nathaniel Prickett of the Brazil Squadron (p. 21)
In 1850, two years after midshipman Prickett sat for the daguerreotype shown here, he died in Rio de Janeiro while on duty with the Brazil Squadron. Image from the David W. Vaughan collection.

Disaster @ Fort Monroe (pp. 22-23)
An image of a 12-inch coastal gun and its crew at Fort Monroe was taken prior to 1910. On July 21 of that year, an accidental gun explosion at the fortress killed an undetermined number of men.

William C. Armor, Aide-De-Camp, 2nd Division, 20th Army Corps by David M. Neville (pp. 24-25)
William Crawford Armor (1842-1911) served on the staff of Maj. Gen. John White Geary. Armor survived wounds below the knee at Antietam and in the right hand at Chancellorsville. He went on to participate in the campaigns of Chattanooga, Atlanta, Savannah and the Carolinas. He ended the war as a captain with a brevet, or honorary rank, of major. The profile is illustrated with portraits of Armor and Geary.

Passed From His Sight: An Incident in The Military Career of Captain Augustus Michaelis by Scott Valentine (pp. 26-27)
Michaelis, the captain and commander of Company I of the 45th New York Infantry, was eyewitness to an unusual event in his Virginia camp during the early evening of May 2, 1863. A huge stag emerged from a wooded area, soon followed by a menagerie of wild animals. This surreal scene was followed by gray soldiers and the rebel yell—and thus began Michaelis’s Chancellorsville experience. A carte de visite of Capt. Michaelis is part of the author’s collection.

Uniforms & History by Michael J. McAfee (pp. 28-29)
In “Just Before the Battle…,” McAfee examines the uniforms of the 8th New York State Militia at Bull Run. A portrait of an unidentified sergeant from the regiment and a Mathew Brady image of men from the 8th titled, “Arlington Heights July 16th 1861” is included.

Stragglers (pp. 30-36)
A grouping of seven images submitted by readers is included in this installment of the popular department, including a bugler from the 1st Delaware Cavalry, a soldier in the 10th Ohio Independent Company Sharpshooters, a federal sergeant major and two young Confederate soldiers.

Sutler’s Row (p. 39)

The Last Shot (p. 40)
A tintype from the Jules Martino collection features two injured men—one is missing an arm and the other has a gauze-like wrapping of brace around his neck.

Inside Back Cover
A carte de visite of a Civil War band with a fort in the background by itinerant photographer C.G. Blatt of Bernville, Pa., is part of the Donald Bates Sr. collection.

Back Cover
A woman holds an image of a soldier housed in a composition frame. The soldier is probably her husband. This tintype is part of the Liljenquist Family Collection at the Library of Congress.

Finding Aid: Winter 2014

2014-v32-01-xxxii

The complete issue

Vol. XXXII, No. 1
(44 pages)

Print edition: Visit our store to check availability
Digital edition: Visit JSTOR.org to purchase
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Inside

Cover image
The hand-tinted image is a half plate ambrotype of Capt. James A. Holeman, Company A, 24th North Carolina Infantry, who was wounded at the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff and captured at the Battle of Five Forks.

Table of Contents (p. 1)

Editor’s Desk (p. 2)
This “Change in Command” issue features a farewell from David Neville, who introduces Ronald S. Coddington as the new editor and publisher of Military Images and thanks the “collectors and historians who contribute the wonderful photographs that grace the pages of each issue.” The incoming editor, Ronald S. Coddington, follows with a pledge to continue in the established tradition of MI and thanks subscribers for their participation in the recent survey and their valuable input, which have provided guidance for future publication changes.

Tar Heels! A Survey of North Carolinians in the Confederate Army by Greg Mast (pp. 3-12)
This Military Images feature article is an exclusive preview of Greg Mast’s recently discovered photographs of identified North Carolina citizen soldiers in advance of his second published volume of Tar Heel images. The article includes seven images detailed with individual biographies, unit histories, and descriptions of uniforms and weaponry. One very intriguing image is a possible self-portrait of “photographic artist” Capt. Abner David Peace of the “Granville Targeteers” 23rd Regiment North Carolina Troops, who saw service in a wide variety of battles. Another subject of the article is Pvt. Josephus S. Morris of “Tecumseh’s Scouts” 67th Regiment North Carolina Troops who saw duty only within North Carolina. The article’s seven subjects provide insight into the wide range of duty, background, and experiences that represent the soldiers known as Tar Heels.

Passing in Review by Ronald S. Coddington (p. 13)
The review is of Confederate Faces in Color by Shannon Prichard and Shane Kisner, a new volume that features over 300 color images of Southern soldiers, including the image of Capt. James A. Holeman, featured on the cover of this issue of Military Images.

“God Bless Gallant Old North Carolina” (pp. 14-15)
The quotation by Gen. Robert E. Lee referencing the arrival of North Carolina troops during the fighting at Appomattox, this article features five images of four North Carolina soldiers from the Liljenquist Family collection at the Library of Congress. One image has now been identified as a result of conversation on the MI Facebook page.

An Album of the Faces of the 25th USCT by Shayne Davidson (pp. 16-18)
Eighteen different gem sized tintypes of African American infantrymen serving in Company G of the 25th U.S. Colored Troops are the focus of this fascinating article. The images were originally owed by the Capt. William A. Prickett, who was nursed back to health by some of his soldiers. Capt. Prickett’s image is also included with the article. The author of the article created life-sized drawings of the men and entitled her noted 2013exhibit “Civil War Soldiers.”

Uniforms & History by Michael J. McAfee (pp. 19-23)
Fourteen images and two illustrations accompany “The Uniform Coat, Part 2: Enlisted Men” and its extensive discussion of the evolution of the 1858 frock coat for enlisted soldiers. The article discusses different variations used by state militia as well as variations in trimmings and buttons, including two features that are often not included in current reproductions of the frock.

Showdown With the Sioux by Scott Valentine (pp. 24-25)
The career of Irish immigrant, Capt. Ferdinand Edwin DeCourcy is described. DeCourcy arrived in the United States in 1857, and joined the army. He became a second lieutenant in May, 1861, with the 13th Infantry and saw action at Vicksburg. The article moves next to DeCourcy’s post-Civil War career, and begins by describing the extremes of the natural environment found on the Plains. However the focus of the article is on the defense led by DeCourcy and his soldiers against a stirring attack by Sioux Indians on Fort Cooke, Montana Territory, in 1868.

A Portrait of Lee We Were Not Supposed to See by Donald A. Hopkins (pp. 26-29)
The author challenges the generally accepted fact that two formerly known post-war images of Gen. Robert E. Lee attributed to the studio of John C. Boude and Michael Miley in Lexington, VA. Hopkins discusses the history behind a very rare image of Lee taken by C.R. Rees of Richmond. Lee had requested that Rees destroy the negative as he thought it “makes me look more like a prosperous Southern gentleman than a defeated warrior.” Rees ignored the request and the result is a fascinating single portrait with a rich history taken between November 25 and December 6, 1867. Hopkins’ discussion of the portraits’ verso documentation provides evidence that all three images were taken during the same sitting in Richmond in late 1867.

Four Decades on the High Seas: Boatswain William Long, An Englishman in the U.S. Navy by Ron Field (pp. 30-31)
The author provides an extensive history of the subject of a carte de visite of Boatswain William Long, probably taken in 1864. Long had many adventures at sea, including service as boatswain aboard the San Jacinto, which was noted for its many captures of Confederate blockade runners.

Stragglers (pp. 32-42)
Includes a wide variety of citizen soldiers through 22 different images from both the Civil War and Spanish-American War eras. A few of the unique images include a ninth-plate ambrotype of a Stonewall Brigade soldier in a case with a later newspaper clipping describing some of his service, a sixth-plate ambrotype of a Native American sharpshooter from Michigan, and a carte de visite of a Union soldier and four ladies, some of whom are dressed in military inspired clothing from the 1864 Army Relief Fair in Albany, NY.

The Last Shot (p. 44)
The ninth-plate ambrotype is of a very intense15-year-old Tar Heel, Pvt. James T. Rogers. He is shown armed with two different pistols. He enlisted with Company H of the 13th North Carolina Infantry in May of 1861 and served until discharged due to his age in August 1962. His unit was present during the Seven Days Battles.

 

Finding Aid: May/June 1998

1998-may-june

The complete issue

Vol. XIX, No. 6
(40 pages)

Print edition: Visit our store to check availability
Digital edition: Visit JSTOR.org to purchase
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Inside

Cover image
A quarter-plate ambrotype of a soldier from the 5th New York Infantry, also known as Duryee’s Zouaves, is from the Helder Costa Collection.

Table of Contents (p. 1)

Editor’s Desk (p. 3)
The editor laments the passing of long time contributor Wendell Lang.

Mail Call (pp. 4-5)
Letters include corrections to stories in the previous issue about the Frolic, “Hope of the 22nd Ohio,” and an image misidentified as Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

Light & Shadow (p. 6)
In this ongoing column about technical aspects of photography and collecting, the characteristics of the ambrotype are highlighted.

Passing in Review (p. 7)
The books Images of the Spanish-American War, April-August 1898 (Pictorial Histories) by Stan Cohen and Mathew Brady and the Image of History (Smithsonian Institution) by Mary Panzer are reviewed.

The Gun Runner from West Point by Richard Faulkner (pp. 8-11)
A history of Capt. Joseph Haddock Dorst’s Gussie Expedition and the first American landing in Cuba is detailed here. The narrative is illustrated with images of Durst and the Gussie.

James Bailey: An Obscure Louisiana Photographer and His Obscure Confederate Legacy by George C. Esker III (pp. 12-13)
Newspaper advertisements for Bailey’s gallery appeared in editions of the Plaquemine, La., Gazette and Sentinel between February and July 1861. Only one portrait credited to him is known to have survived, and it is an ambrotype of a Confederate officer tentatively identified as 2nd Lt. Joseph Warro of the 11th Louisiana Infantry. The photograph is reproduced here.

Southern Soldiers: Faces from the Antebellum & Confederate South (pp. 14-19)
This collection of Southern military men includes Simon Turman of the 7th Florida Infantry, Robert A. Duncan of the 13th Arkansas Infantry, Mitchell Putnam of the 1st Texian Volunteers, Cornelius Patrick of the 5th North Carolina Cavalry and his wife Mary Agnes Sullivan Patrick, Pvt. Elihu H. Griffin f the 5th Alabama Battalion and seven unidentified soldiers.

A Family in Gray: The LeRoy Brothers of the ‘Oconee Rifles’ by John Mills Bigham (pp. 20-21)
Six of seven LeRoy boy served as privates in the “Oconee Rifles,” which became Company E of the 1st South Carolina Rifles, also known as Orr’s Rifles. All of them died. Portraits of five of them illustrate the text: David, Samuel P., Charles T., John and Hiram Andrew.

Zouaves! Images from the Collection of David Wynn Vaughan (pp. 22-27)
This survey of Zouaves totals 17, and it includes a squad of men from Company C of the 34th Indiana Infantry, an original Zouave in the French army, a member of the 5th New York Infantry, a soldier in the 11th Indiana Infantry, a Papal Guard Zouave and more.

Nameless Zouaves from the Collections of Our Readers (p. 28)
Five portraits are all unidentified soldiers.

Brothers at War: James and Richard Taylor by Charles G. Markantes (pp. 29-31)
Sgt. James E. Taylor of the 10th New York Infantry, also known as the National Zouaves, and Pvt. Richard Louis Spalding Taylor of the 6th New York Infantry, or the Billy Wilson Zouaves, and later the U.S. navy, are profiled here. Portraits of both brothers are included are, along with illustrations of Civil War scenes created for the regimental history of the 10th by James.

Uniforms & History by Michael J. McAfee (p. 32)
In “Brave Lancers: Sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer cavalry (Rush’s Lancers), 1861-1865,” McAfee examines the distinctive uniform and record of this Keystone State regiment. The column is illustrated with a portrait of a Col. Richard Rush and an outdoor view of soldiers from the regiment in camp.

The Auction Block (pp. 33-34)

Capt. Bob’s Caveat Emptorium (p. 35)
In this installment, the sly captain tries to sell readers an original portrait of Bobby Lee. But let the buyer beware! Looks can be deceiving, as is certainly the case here.

Sutlers’ Row (pp. 36-37)

 Stragglers (pp. 38-40)
A dozen solo photos from the collections of our readers include three portraits of individual with canine friends, Union soldiers and a group of men, perhaps Southern soldiers or a hunting party, posed with a wagon drawn by a pair of white horses.

Back cover
An ambrotype from the Greg Starbuck Collection pictures an unknown militiaman or early war volunteer with the letters BRG on his shako. He may have been a member of the Bedford Rifle Grays, a company of the 14th Virginia Infantry.

Picking Up the Last of the Back Issues

Bella with back issuesYesterday I drove to Dave Neville’s home outside Pittsburgh, and picked up boxes of back issues of the magazine. This was my second trip. Last weekend, I picked up the first half the boxes and signed the purchase agreement. On that trip, I drove alone. This time I brought along Bella, our 10-year-old pug. Here she poses with some of the 40 boxes that I unpacked from the car. In the two trips combined, I brought home 81 boxes containing about 6,000 issues. Not bad considering the moving vehicle was a Honda Civil Hybrid!

Next comes the task of organizing and making an inventory of the contents. This work will help me to determine which issues are missing from the archive, and also allow me to list the inventory for sale on tis site and elsewhere.