PORTRAIT OF IDENTIFIED AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIER, PRIVATE JOHN FRANCIS HAMMOND, CO. H, 4TH USCT

Half-length studio portrait of Pvt. John Francis Hammond, Co. H, 4th USCT in uniform. Ninth plate tintype. Full pressed paper case with foliate motif. 

A significant Civil War photograph of an identified African American soldier, documented by accompanying text as Private John Francis Hammond of Company H, 4th United States Colored Troops (USCT). The plate is securely housed in a period pressed-leather wooden case with a plush coral-red velvet liner and framed within a brilliant, double-foliate gold-gilt brass mat.

This ninth-plate cased photograph represents the top shelf of Civil War portrait collecting: a sharply resolved wartime likeness of an identified Black Union combat soldier.

Organized in Baltimore, Maryland, in the summer of 1863, Hammond's 4th USCT was an elite regiment that stood at the vanguard of the Union's offensive operations in Virginia. Serving in the Army of the James, the 4th USCT marched directly into the flames of the Richmond-Petersburg campaign. This context bridges Hammond’s service to a moment of supreme gallantry, placing him side-by-side with Sergeant Alfred B. Hilton - the legendary color bearer of the 4th USCT who received the Congressional Medal of Honor at Chaffin’s Farm. Hammond himself survived the grueling campaign, including the brutal combat near Deep Bottom, and lived to participate in postwar District of Columbia veteran reunions.

The soldier is captured in a striking bust-length studio portrait, looking directly into the lens while wearing his formal military frock coat, a crisp bowtie, and an infantry forage cap. Identified wartime images of combat-tested black infantrymen are of the utmost scarcity, offering a powerful personal monument to the men who fought to break the chains of slavery.

[USCT, United States  Colored Troops, Glory, 54th Massachusetts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Soldiers] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [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]

The tintype is in fair condition. While the subject remains clear, the plate exhibits localized flaking, tiny pinpoint emulsion losses, and light surface crazing. Most of this "noise" is located on the perimeter of the image.