Alfred D. Whitehouse, 8th New York State Militia, artist. 

The Camp I Occupy. 

Ink on paper original camp sketch. 

Approx. 7 1/8 x 5 1/4 in., housed in an 11 3/4 x 12 in. frame.

A charming and well-done piece, the quality reflects Whitehouse's pre-War occupation of sign painter. Done in ink while his regiment occupied Arlington Heights, the artwork depicts the tent he shared with four other soldiers. The verso is inscribed: "5 of us occupy one tent and sleep on the bare ground...overhead on a line hang our overcoats, belts, canteens, and [etc.] Our tents are built in a line to form streets...there are about 200 tents. I am drawing the encampment." 

A notation on the front of the drawing indicates that Whitehouse sent it "to Patten in a letter on June 20, 1861." Just a month later, Whitehouse and the 8th NYSM saw their first action at the First Battle of Bull Run, where a Confederate ball struck him two inches above the elbow. He was captured and subsequently confined in Richmond, where his arm was eventually amputated. No longer able to fight, Whitehouse was paroled. He returned to life in New York, where he eventually married and had six children.  

Whitehouse's sketch is tastefully framed along with a small paper shield on which he drew a stylized "8," along with his initials "A.D.W." and "Co. D." It is unclear where this was found or what purpose it served, but it is of the period and likely was found among the rest of his artwork. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Art, Folk Art, Military Art, Etching, Engraving, Lithographs, Prints, Ephemera]