A seated three-quarter length CDV. Boston, MA: A. Sonrel, 46 School Street. [ca. 1862–1864]. Verso bears a prominent Sonrel gallery backmark and detailed period ink identification: "Brevet Lt. Col. C. J. Mills / Killed near Petersburg, Va. / March 31, 1865 / 24 Years / A. Adjutant 2nd Corps."

Charles James Mills (1841–1865) was a Harvard graduate and a rising star in the Army of the Potomac. Originally an officer in the 2nd and 56th Massachusetts Infantry, he was later detailed as an Assistant Adjutant General for the hard fighting II Corps. Mills was known for his administrative brilliance and personal bravery under fire. His service ended tragically during the Battle of Hatcher’s Run on 31 March, 1865 - just nine days before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox - when he was struck and killed by a shell while delivering orders.

This image of Mills is a sophisticated study by the renowned Boston photographer Antoine Sonrel. The fair-skinned Mills is depicted in a seated pose, wearing an officer’s sack coat and a civilian-style cravat. He holds a walking stick and his ornate forage cap, which features the distinct hunting horn insignia of the infantry. The image captures the refined, intellectual appearance typical of the Harvard men who filled the Union’s junior officer and staff ranks. It also alludes to the pain Mills endured as a result of his military comittment. 

Mills’s final sacrifice at Petersburg was the end of a service record already marked by a survival that bordered on the miraculous. His earlier wounds were so severe that he was initially considered a permanent casualty of the war. In his very first taste of major combat as a First Lieutenant and Adjutant with the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, Mills was nearly killed at Antietam when a bullet passed through both of his thighs during the heavy fighting near the Hagerstown Pike. Considered chronically debilitating if not deadly, it explains the presence of the cane in this photograph - he could not walk comfortably without one. Determined to get back in the fight despite this handicap, Mills convinced authorities to allow him to re-enlist, this time in an adjutant role with the 56th Massachusetts. His aptitude soon carried him to the prominent position he held at the time of his death. 

This CDV is a premier identified artifact of a high-ranking Massachusetts officer whose promising career was cut short during the climactic struggles around Petersburg. It remains a vital visual record of the scholarly young men who traded the classroom for the battlefield.

[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, Stereographs] [Civil War, Union, Confederate]

Strong tonal depth and contrast. The mount is well-preserved with a sharp, legible backmark and clear period identification. A touching and historically significant portrait of a fallen staff officer.