Quarter plate ambrotype. ca 1861. Full leatherette case. Period note identifying subjects pinned to velvet pad. Published in Military Images magazine, September/October 1997. 

Outstanding portrait of three armed and identified members of Co. H, 3rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. All three men, posed in height order, wear the distinctive tricorn hat and grey uniform of very early soldiers from the Bay State. The tricorn, in particular, was a tribute to the Revolutionary era, during which Massachusetts played a critical role. Images of men wearing these early uniforms, especially the tricorn hat, are scarce and desirable.

Likely struck before they deployed for the front, the three men pictured in this strikingly clear ambrotype numbered among the first Union troops to set foot on Confederate soil. During their first "90 days" term, the regiment was deployed to reinforce Fortress Monroe on the Virginia Peninsula and took part in the destruction of the Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk before returning to Boston.

A wonderful period ink note pinned to the velvet pad opposite the image identifies these men as "Alm. Vaughn...William Brown...Robert Paris (Dead)...All in same company with Rodney Co C 4th Regiment." This note was likely written some time after the war and contains some inaccuracies that can be explained by fading memories. In fact, these men are Alvin Vaughn, Lorenzo Brown, and Robert Parris, all of Co. H of the 3rd Massachusetts Infantry. After their time in the 3rd, Vaughn went on to become a Lieutenant in the 9th Vermont Infantry, while Parris and Brown would join the 18th Massachusetts Infantry together. Brown was killed in action at Rappahannock Station in November of 1863. The reference to "Rodney" remains a mystery that could potentially be solved with more research. 

The image remains in wonderful condition and would make a fine addition to even the most advanced Civil War photography collections. 

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