Western campaigners, one wearing an identification badge and another with a cigar, posed in Kentucky towards the war’s end.
A U.S. sailor of Asian heritage posed for his likeness in a photographer’s studio on the port city of Wilmington, N.C. Though the name of the warship he served aboard is not visible on his cap band, the sleeve insignia is the starboard watch mark, which the Navy had used since antebellum times. His collar trim, without matching cuff design, reflects pre-1866 dress practices that varied by commander. A revenue stamp on the back of the card stock mount, used between August 1864 and August 1866, is consistent with the sailor’s uniform.
A Union infantryman faces the camera with his hands folded. A knapsack sits high on his back, topped by a rolled wool blanket lashed horizontally. A light canvas haversack and canteen hang from his shoulders. A Hardee hat bearing the infantry hunting-horn device, a short jacket, and dark trousers completed this portrait of a soldier ready for active campaigning.
A Union soldier standing at “Order—arms!” poses in a split-screen view: the left half pictures him in a four-button sack coat and the right half a greatcoat with a trouser leg rolled up.
The cut and dark color of this soldier’s overcoat point to a mounted trooper active in late 1861 and early 1862. The flag hanging over his shoulder appears to have been waterproofed or created from a glazed fabric, perhaps a chintz.
The 88th Indiana Infantry participated in the twin victories at Lookout Mountain, the “Battle Above the Clouds,” and Missionary Ridge in November 1863. The regiment included Daniel B. Keller (1844-1906), a sergeant in Company A who became the regiment’s quartermaster sergeant. He’s pictured here on Point Lookout at some point before he mustered out of the army in June 1865.
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