Rare Artistic Pose of a Union Artillery Officer

Securing image scans and permissions, and researching and writing about African Americans who participated in the war is my top priority. However, I remain an avid collector of cartes de visite. A recent addition is this image of John Aiken Millard Jr., photographed in the studio of Pine & Bell of Troy, New York.

Millard's artistic pose in certainly unusual for the period. He reclines against a fabric and tassel covered box surrounded by the trappings of an officer: Binoculars and case, sword and scabbard. A leather bound journal lay open, leaning against his forage cap. On the page most visible to the camera appears to be writing. Upon closer examination, the "writing" is nothing more than wiggly lines added in ink by the photographer or an assistant. The presence of the book is perhaps symbolic of an man of letters. Millard's well-tailored uniform, cuff links, and lace handkerchief suggest he hails from a family of privilege and wealth.

The ink inscription in the upper left of the print area identify the sitter as "Lieut Millard 1 Reg Art'y A.P." He officially served as a second lieutenant in Battery H of the First New York Light Artillery, part of the the Army of the Potomac. On the right side of the image is stamped a large letter M, and is written the date, Nov. 29, 1864. Millard officially mustered in to the First a month later. He survived the war and left the army in June 1865.

Cartes de visite like this are rare. I am aware of only one other like it. Check out a larger version on Flickr.

Visiting Owens Dawson

Researching the life and times of Q.M. Sgt. Owens Dawson of the Twenty-fifth U.S. Colored Infantry has provided me an opportunity to get to know a man who died fifty-nine years before my birth. I've imagined him waiting on tables in a Philadelphia restaurant before the war, marching to the sound of drum and fife on the drill ground at Camp William Penn, mourning the untimely death of his first wife, traveling to Washington, D.C., to begin a new life, and, in his dotage, chatting up aged veterans at a Grand Army of the Republic reunion.

Today, I visited his grave site at Arlington National Cemetery, located a few miles from my home. I enjoyed a quiet moment to reflect on a life of joy and sorrow, in service of country, for the betterment of our nation.

Little could he have imagined that 105 years after his death that I would be standing at his grave site, snapping pictures of a cool marble slab that marks the spot where his earthly remains lie undisturbed, a silent stone witness to the memory of a man.

Kendrick Allen, Buffalo Soldier

A note penned on the back of the carte de visite of Kendrick Allen, written by his commanding officer, praises him as an excellent soldier — a fine compliment to an eighteen-year-old sergeant new to soldiering in the 108th U.S. Colored Infantry. Allen served in the regiment from 1864 until 1866.

Five years later he returned to the military, this time in the regular army as a corporal in the Twenty-fourth U.S. Infantry, one of the Buffalo Soldier regiments. He later transferred to the Ninth Cavalry and retired as a sergeant in 1897.

This the first Buffalo Soldier I've documented. If you have any information about Sgt. Allen, please contact me.

Recognize These Fellows?

Chris Marquez sent me a scan of an albumen photograph of fifteen Union infantrymen, most in the group are sergeants. On many of the forage caps can be seen the familiar cross-shaped badge of the Sixth Army Corps. The soldiers are gathered around a flag. In the distance is visible a group of cabins, perhaps winter quarters for these men.

Take a close up look at this large scan.

If you recognize any of these fellows, please contact Chris.

James Henry Ward and the 36th Ohio Infantry

James Henry Ward is one of a large number of African American men and women connected with the military in an unofficial capacity during the war. You will not find their names in any database, and yet they were a vital part of the Union armies. Many served as personal servants, cooks, teamsters, and other support roles.

Ward's role is unclear. He is not listed as an official member of the Thirty-sixth Ohio Infantry, although a period photograph of this African American identifies him as a member of Company A of the regiment. In the photograph, he wears a military jacket.

Ward may have been a personal servant to an officer in Company A. Two captains commanded the company, Hiram Fosdick Devol and James Gage Barker. A number of lieutenants are on the rolls, including Augustus T. Ward (the surname suggests a possible connection), Jonathan N Patton, James C. Selby, and Andrew J. Temple.

It is possible he was connected to the Ward family of Marietta, Ohio.

I'd like to know more about James Henry Ward and his role with the Thirty-sixth. Hope you can help.