Pro Patria. Outdoor group albumen CDV portrait. Washington, D.C.: Mathew Brady, [May 1861]. Brady imprint to mount recto alongside period ink motto “Pro Patria”. INSCRIBED to verso by Silas R. Brownell: "Mrs Hugh Auchincloss / with compliments of / S.B. Brownell / [C]amp Cameron. / May 1861." 

8 members of the 7th NY State Militia posed before a tent, 5 of whom are visibly armed, with a young African American boy seated in front of the group. The motto of the militia is written on the mount below; “Pro Patria” (“For Country”).

A handsome signature by Silas B. Brownell (1830 - 1918) places the image at Camp Cameron in May 1861, where the 7th New York Militia was serving in the early days of the war. 

Brownell was a prominent lawyer in New York City (c.f. Empire State Notables (1914), p. 134), certainly one of the "Silk Stocking" crew. He is not listed in the Civil War Database; however, he is listed in Grand Army of the Republic Records for New York, noting he served in Company H of the 7th New York State Militia and mustered into the GAR on 3 April 1903 (Post 140 Descriptive Book: Book 5; New York State Archives). Here, he inscribed it to the wife of a Hugh Auchincloss. 

Gaining the nickname of the “Silk Stocking Regiment” due to the elite social status of many members, the militia was formed in 1806 as a response to British ships firing at American vessels off Sandy Hook. It was mobilized in the 19th century for state and federal services, assisting in quelling local disturbances in New York, such as the Anti-rent War in 1839, the Astor Place Riot in 1849, and the Dead Rabbit Riot in 1857. 

The 7th NY State Militia took up residence at the Capitol Building in 1861, after being called to defend Washington per the request of President Lincoln. Shortly thereafter, the militia was ordered to Camp Cameron, a training facility near Georgetown. The 7th helped in the construction of Fort Runyon before returning to New York City and mustering out on 3 June 1861. They would continue to muster in for short service dates throughout the Civil War, including being on duty for the New York Draft Riots that occurred in July of 1863. After the Civil War, the militia would go on to become a New York National Guard regiment that would serve into the 20th century. 

Mathew Brady photographed the 7th New York State Militia at Camp Cameron in Washington, D.C. in 1861, and also produced many studio portraits of members of the 7th New York both before and after their 30-days' service in April and May of 1861. This is a very fine view from Brady's session.  

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