A premier pair of albumen CDVs documenting a single officer. The first is a vignetted bust portrait of the subject in uniform; the second is a rare horizontal outdoor study showing the same officer mounted on his horse. The outdoor view bears the backmark of L. V. Newell’s Photograph Gallery, while the portrait features a 2-cent blue George Washington revenue stamp on the reverse. Both are identified via later pencil notations as Charles Wheeler.

Charles Wheeler (1838–1912) served as an officer in the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry, a notable regiment of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). Wheeler rose through the ranks from Lieutenant to Captain during his service. The 5th Massachusetts Cavalry was a hard-working unit that spent significant time in the Department of the Gulf and later participated in the Siege of Petersburg and the Richmond campaign. Notably, they were among the first troops to enter the Confederate capital of Richmond in April 1865.

This pairing provides a rare dual perspective of a cavalry officer's life. It includes two CDVs: 

1. A formal studio portrait where Wheeler wears a forage cap with crossed-saber cavalry insignia and an officer’s frock coat with prominent shoulder straps. His stern expression is framed by a full, well-groomed beard.

2. An exceptional outdoor view, taken in camp. Wheeler sits tall in the saddle, outfitted in full field gear. The horse is well-captured in profile, showing the specific tack and saddlery used by Union cavalry officers. Mounted views from the period are significantly rarer than studio portraits due to the technical difficulty of keeping horse and rider still for the required exposure time.

Officers of the USCT cavalry regiments occupied a unique and often dangerous niche in the Union army. This collection preserves the likeness of a man who led Black troopers during the climactic push into the heart of the Confederacy.

[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]

Excellent clarity and tonal depth, particularly in the outdoor mounted view. Mounts are crisp with typical age-related toning.