Pleasing c. 1900 mounted photograph of an aging veteran of the United States Colored Troops and his family. Approx. 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches with a 7 13/16 x 5 7/8 inch mount. 

The former soldier, seated at lower left, wears a small star-shaped badge issued by the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of Union veterans of the Civil War. This man may be named "Willie Harden" based on inscriptions on the reverse of the photograph ("Harden," lower right) and the front of an accompanying 1911-dated pension envelope from the US Department of the Interior. Both the photograph and envelope also bear references to Council Grove, Kansas, making it likely that the subject settled in that small town south west of Topeka after the War. At least eight William Hardens served in USCT regiments during the Civil War; more research may pinpoint his exact identification. 

[Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation] [USCT, United States Colored Troops, Glory, 54th Massachusetts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Soldiers] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Medals, Corps Badges, Badges] [Veterans, Veterans’ Organizations, Fraternal Organizations] [GAR, Grand Army of the Republic]